Emergence

Normally I work with either finished milled lumber, or I will develop a piece from raw wood cut off a tree.  It is rare that I will combine the two together, except for impact. This piece started with a large piece of Avocado taken from an orchard in Fallbrook, California.  The orchard owner allows me to go through her orchard and find pieces of wood that are from dying tree’s, or wood that has fallen off trees that were in distress.  This piece of wood was a part of a much larger cutting.  I had finished this part of the wood, and it had been laying in my studio for over a year.  I finally got the inspiration to combine it with the Birch wing shapes, making it appear like a bird emerging from a lake.  Some viewers get the impression that it resembles the shape of a bird of paradise flower.