inspired by our green man

We have another green man on our old carved oak wardrobe, but this one hangs on the garden fence. He seems to have developed more of his own character now that the Kendal rain has weathered him somewhat. He is a cast from an original carving but his name and origin, once recorded on the back, have disappeared. He is a holiday souvenir from Shropshire or Lincolnshire but I can't quite remember where.

It always amuses me that these carvings, so obviously pagan, and so characterful, are frequently found in and on churches. I guess that the work of the stonemason was indispensable in the construction of these buildings, whether or not he was a 'believer' and so he was allowed to express his skills in a way that pleased him.

long live individuality and independent thinking.