Telling a story in wood

Press, 31 October 1984, Page 20

Telling a story in wood

Hans Muller has worked with wood for most of his life. A carpenter in his native Austria, he came to New Zealand in 1953 to build houses. Now retired, Mr Muller has devoted his time to carving, an art he first got a taste of as part of his basic carpentry training. His work will be displayed in the C.S.A. Gallery from tomorrow as part of the annual Woodworker’s Guild exhibition. Mr Muller is one of only a few carvers in the guild. Most of its members are wood turners who make furniture. Hans Mullers’ carvings were triggered by insistent demands from his son for a hand carved chess set The chess set had to be of figures from Greek mythology and carved in walnut from a tree that fell in the Mullers’ backyard. Mr Muller fulfilled that commission in time for his son’s twenty-first birthday last year after working on the large chess pieces for three years. The black chessmen were figures from Greek mythology and the white from Nordic myths.

Nordic mythology captured Mr Muller’s interest and he has completed several carvings of figures from legends, mainly in battle poses with animals or other figures. These figures he intends to exhibit as a tableau of the Nordic creation story culminating in the Christian salvation represented by a carving of Christ The idea, Mr Muller says, is to show the gradual integ ration of Christianity into the Norse culture. The statue-like wood carvings include Thor fighting the Midgard serpent, and Heindall. The three-dimensional figures were developed through his own initiative and petulance, Mr Muller says. “My son challenged me. I read books and studied and made many drawings of the figures. “For each of my carvings I make many drawings so I can imagine what they will look like. Only when I am satisfied that they are right do I begin carving.” Although he had been taught the rudiments of carving, the large figures tested his skills. “When I am making the carvings I use wooden mallets because they are much softer. You can tap gently and feel much more what is happening to the wood.” The carvings are made by hand using chisels and the mallets. Mr Muller taps pieces of wood from the carvings creating a rough shape before working on the finer features. He uses almost exclu-

sively New Zealand wood, although one piece was carved from Australian hardwood. None of his larger pieces are for sale. “There is too much of myself in them to part with them,” Mr Muller says. Since leaving Austria, Hans Muller has returned twice. The last time was in 1981 and he brought back a catalogue of traditional Austrian wood-carved figures being made in Austria at present. These carvings he will make on commission and he has carved a bittern for a conservation group and a shooter for the trophy of a gun club. He has just begun work on a traditional Nativity scene. The carvings are traditional Austrian designs and there is a large market for such carvings in Austria, Mr Muller says. He feels that he has just about exhausted the Nordic motif and is searching for a new project to begin. Mr Muller has exhibited one or two pieces before in Woodworkers’ Guild exhibitions but this is the first time he has shown a series of works. The 1984 Woodworkers’ Guild exhibition opens to the public tomorrow and will run until November 11. This year the guild’s cabinetmakers are represented by several pieces. Other woodwork includes delicately turned pieces by Mark Piercy and a solid dinghy made by the Governor’s Bay boatbuilder, Lionel Jefcoate.