| The Elder Wood Spirit, 2004 Sweet Gum 8.25 inches tall |
I was helping a friend run fence through some
dense woods and we had to clear a lot of
underbrush and trees to make a path for it.
One of the trees that had to be removed was a
tall old sweet gum with a strangely shaped trunk.
Many years before, when the tree was smaller,
a vine had grown, spiraling, up the tree.
The tree continued to grow, but the vine would
not stretch. The tree bulged around the vine and,
eventually swallowed it up completely. I found it
several inches inside the log when I carved this.
The dark lines and varied color are completely
natural, caused by the grain of the wood being
forced into these patterns by the choking vine.
I also carved the Penguin from it.
dense woods and we had to clear a lot of
underbrush and trees to make a path for it.
One of the trees that had to be removed was a
tall old sweet gum with a strangely shaped trunk.
Many years before, when the tree was smaller,
a vine had grown, spiraling, up the tree.
The tree continued to grow, but the vine would
not stretch. The tree bulged around the vine and,
eventually swallowed it up completely. I found it
several inches inside the log when I carved this.
The dark lines and varied color are completely
natural, caused by the grain of the wood being
forced into these patterns by the choking vine.
I also carved the Penguin from it.