Creative Carvings

My father was born in Riga, Latvia. A master hand wood carver, he escaped the hard times of war conditions and landed in Canada where he continued his works. The piece displayed he considered his finest piece “The Last Supper”. Not known to many, but he has been commissioned to carve beautiful carvings for the Queen of England, Princess Margaret, as well as many other dignitaries in Canada and the United States. His work has been cast in bronze, aluminum, silver and is found on many of the finest pieces of furniture.

He selects the perfect piece of wood to enable the grain to show his carving to advantage. He then starts to chisel away with his razor sharp tools, turning the piece of wood into a beautiful piece of art. With every cut in full realization that one slip of chisel could spell disaster for the carving. His talent is one that very few posses.

We offer many of his various carvings at many different price points to enable most people the opportunity of ownership and enjoyment of his incredible collections of art. These handmade replicas finished pieces of art are found in Latvian collections. There exist no other plaques like these. They are unique and one of a kind.

Which brings this to me, I am John Lakstigala, Ziedonis was my father. I apprenticed with my father starting when I was a little kid, seeing what amazing things my dad could do with a block of wood. It got me interested in helping him in whatever I could and I got better and better. Then I grew up to become an older teen, the kind of age when females were interesting and schooling was important.

I pursue a passion, the country of Latvia is under attack socially, politically, many of the people go hungry, and in many areas the economy is torn.