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Mark Pearse used to sit at his kitchen table, and sketch small designs on the back of envelopes. Here is one such design that became a Christmas card…..

A block of Pink Gum (Euc. fasciculosa) given to me by Paul and Sue Elliot.
The wood is almost as tough as Myall: the grain runs up, down and every which way.

Shaping and re-shaping; embracing limitations.
Eucalyptus camaldulensis, River Redgum is a local wood – worth carving, even though the grain is capricious. I remind myself (yet again) of the Wabi Sabi philosophy: celebrating imperfection….knowing when to stop.

Lengths and breadths of Red Gum for a series: Elder. They will be vertical low-relief sculptures, or carvings. Low relief requires strong side light – and after years of reflection, I  have ‘alighted’ on an  idea that might solve the problem. Or not. We shall see….

Preparing ribs for a second lute body. Fortunately, I already have the (perspex) templates. The wood is Yew; the soundboard will made be of European Spruce, or King William Pine.

Here is the final practice run – before I tackle the real thing. The scrap of  wood is Huon Pine.
Still a bit rough, but getting less rough…so I tell myself.

This project fulfills Dad’s philosophy of ‘bit by bit’. I devote a maximum of  fifteen minutes each day to the sawing of  Pink Gum, the toughest wood around.
It also illustrates the associated observation: ‘less is more’.
I envisage three boat sculptures (assuming the wood is sound) –  and on the way, get plenty of time to think about what might be….

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 – 1858)
Uraga in Sagami Province

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 – 1858)
Fan Print
Raft and Full Moon

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 – 1858)
Autumn Moon at Seto