A master craftsman

Edward Azzopardi in front of some replicas of banners he crafted himself.

I want to introduce to you today a young master craftsman who does incredibly delicate work with a simple surgical knife. He works mainly with paper or cardboard, but he also has done etching on glass as well as delicate and intricate work on wood or plywood. He is Edward Azzopardi, who teaches Graphical Communication (Technical Drawing) in a local Secondary School. He is a member of a local Band Club, Peace Band Club of Naxxar and does a lot of work for this club, including designing and crafting many of the colourful banners that are displayed during the week-long celebration of Our Lady of Victory each year in his local town in the first week of September. 

Edward at work with his surgical knife, a work of utmost precision.

With utmost dexterity and meticulous precision, Edward manoeuvres his knife to cut various shapes and designs, which he then highlights with colored pencils to create one masterpiece after another. I was impressed with the humility of Edward, as is the case with most artists and craftsmen, who are usually shy and let their masterpieces speak.

Our Lady of Victory banner

Replica of the altar gate at Naxxar parish church.