May 28th: 2013
Added this small touch to either corners of a mirror frame that I recently installed. It ties in to the Humming Bird design that I put into the sliding doors in the same area. Carved from Western Yew, that was first turned round on the lathe, was impressed by its ease to work and its ability to take detail. Put a piece of yellow Cedar in the middle to mimic the pistil of the flower and finished with Polymerized Tung Oil.
From Red Pine’s commentaries in his translation of the TAOTECHING :
“Reverence for the spirit of wood is shared by many of the ethnic groups along China’s borders. During Lao-tzu’s day, the southern part of his home state of Ch’u was populated by the Miao, who trace their ancestry to a butterfly and the butterfly to the heart of a maple tree.”