Harp

Tree: Elm, Santa Clara, CA

Height: 30 inches

This sculpture is a good example of the iterative process I follow in arriving at the final shape of the piece. The original arborist log was the crotch containing two 12”-diameter major branches, both of which were completely hollowed out by fungal decay and termite excavation. I initially tried to keep as much of the two hollow trunks as possible, but the result was too bulky. Each time it shaped it, I polished at least some of it to be certain I knew how the shape and grain were integrating. The fourth iteration was nearly the same as the final shape, except that I had not opened up the middle but had retained as much of the “knit” grain as possible.

It still looked too bulky, so I took a major chance: for the first time in sculpting, I cut a hole in the sculpture by taking a thrust cut with my chainsaw. Not knowing if I was going to just discard the piece into the arborist firewood pile, I stood back, looked, and sighed with relief: it worked. So what you see at the top of the piece is the natural edge connecting the two trunks, and at the base are the inside edges of two hollowed trunks. The pencil-wide grooves are termite excavations; one extends up the length of one of the sides. If you look at the bottom of the piece, you can follow the grain and imagine the extent of the trunks.