Wooden peacocks and lions pose regally on half-carved arches stacked against the walls. A handful of carvers, goggles shielding their eyes, tap chisels into fresh planks of wood while Konstantinos Pylarinos whirls about the shop softly guiding them in his thick Greek accent. Pylarinos is a master carver, and this shop is the fulfillment of his dream. Their works become the centerpieces for the frescoed interiors of Orthodox churches. For Pylarinos, whose bushy eyebrows accent his dramatic features and stout body, the work is not only a job but an act of devotion.
Every piece is covered in symbols of faith.
Peacocks stand for the rising of the Holy Spirit and lions symbolize the power of belief. In the obscure field of orthodox church carving, Pylarinos is a giant. His work is known to thousands of believers who attend some 60 churches from New Orleans to British Columbia. And in September, the National Endowment for the Arts honored him as one of 13 artists awarded a National Heritage Fellowship for folk and traditional arts. It was a great achievement for me to be acknowledged for my work.