Celtic Cross

Greg Harris, Celtic Cross stone carver.

Greg Harris, local sculptor and Renaissance man, is the creator of  a High Celtic Cross commissioned by Gary and Lynn Dauby on Blue Heron Vineyard property. The cross has been carved within a 20’x 22’ x 4’ stone that is natural to the hillside.

Greg spent 23 months carving this piece, working 6 days a week from morning until dark, in the cold and ice of winter and the heat and humidity of summer.  “I was a slave to the environment,” he once said. Where others would carve in a controlled studio with assistants to do the “dirty” work, Harris faced the elements faithfully, alone…and won.

A number of things make this particular piece interesting.  For one, we believe it to be the largest “insitu" (of its own stone) Celtic Cross in the world.  Second, the number 23 is repeated time after time within the cross.  There are 23 circles or arcs found in the design and 23” is the distance from the center of the circle to the center of the nodules in the upper segment. Those of you who study numbers, realize that 23 is significant. In the sports world, for instance, the number 23 is worn by our premier athletes (i.e. Michael Jordan, Lebron James and soccer star David Beckham).  In the Bible, the 23rd Psalm is vital to understanding our faith in God. The entire sculpture, for that matter is built on prime numbers and is a model of the “Golden Mean” used in art and design throughout history. The third and possibly most amazing thing, is that Greg is self-taught with no formal training.  When you ask him how he knows what to do, he says, “I don’t know, I just know.”

Greg has completed a variety of projects for Blue Heron Vineyards including other carvings in marble, bronze and sandstone, and intarsia doors that lead to one of the buildings, a pergola and an outdoor room. Each is designed to perfection - a true testament of Greg's skill and attention to detail.
The Vimeo link at the bottom of our "Home" page is a documentary about the Celtic Cross, Greg and Blue Heron Winery.

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Celtic Cross