An artist who dreamed of being a father from a young age has hand-carved a stunning swan-shaped cradle to hold his babies. The result of his labor is a unique legacy that represents a father’s love and care.
Full-time artist Hannah Weidmann, 31, is married to Jake Weidmann, a self-taught artist, calligraphy expert, and the youngest Master Penman in the world—one of just nine remaining today. Together, the Weidmanns have three children: Emma, 6, Henry, 5, and baby Eloise.
Mr. and Mrs. Weidmann grew up living five minutes apart in Littleton, Colorado, but didn’t know each other. They met for the first time as adults in 2012, married in April 2014, and welcomed their first baby three years later.
For Mr. Weidmann, ever since he was about 10, he knew he wanted to be a dad.
“When we found out we were pregnant, of course, we were like, over-the-top excited. I think that’s truly where the swan cradle came from, just this elation for starting a family together.”
The Weidmanns both have an affinity for birds. Mr. Weidmann’s nickname for his wife is “Little Bird.” When they tied the knot, he carved the altar that they were married beneath in secret, a 6-foot set of mahogany wings with their initials engraved in the center, which now rests above their bed as a headboard.
“Wings symbolize favor, protection, so he wanted to kind of mimic that in a way that he could share with our babies,” Mrs. Weidmann said. “Swans in particular, they really do protect each other. They protect their young, they’re fiercely loyal ... nature has a lot of cues for us as humans.”
Mr. Weidmann sketched out his swan cradle design in 2017, while his wife was pregnant, before embarking on the six-month project of bringing it to life. Measuring roughly 30 inches long and 15 inches wide, the cradle stands about 4.5 feet tall on a base that conceals a rocking mechanism. Mr. Weidmann worked alone, carving the cradle from one solid piece of wood and hand-painting its features, before seeking advice from an engineer friend when it came to installing the rocker.
“He gilded the beak in gold, and my mom made this skirt that goes around it, which actually hides the rocking mechanism. ... it actually rocks with magnets that propel against one another, which is how it rocks silently,” Mrs. Weidmann said. “Jake is very engineer-minded as well as very artistic, which I think was a sign of a lot of those Renaissance artists, like Da Vinci.
“It was really special being pregnant, having our children grow inside me, and then for Jake to have this representation of what he was going through because I think some dads don’t really quite know how to bond with the baby until long after the baby’s born. Jake was like, ‘I just really want to bond with my kids as early as possible.’”
As their family grew, the Weidmanns were able to place one baby after another between the protective wings of the swan cradle.
“It was really emotional. I think, especially for Jake, for him to be able to take our babies and put them between the wings was such a momentous moment for our family,” Mrs. Weidmann said. “We always say that an art piece is never finished until it’s seen. ... it wasn’t finished until the baby could be laying in between the wings.”
Meanwhile, faith is at the foundation of everything they do.
“It imbues our love story and imbues the way that we view family. It imbues the work that we produce,” Mrs. Weidmann said. “I think Jake is truly anointed in the work that he’s doing.”
The swan cradle lives permanently in their family nursery. After each baby outgrew the cradle at around 3 months old, it was unhitched from its rocking mechanism and placed on the floor, where the children could play in it or use it to cradle their stuffed toys.
“I kind of do everything to keep Jake in front of the easel,” Mrs. Weidmann told The Epoch Times, claiming that the swan cradle is “certainly an heirloom for our kids.”
