Reclining Figure on block
We have a lovely wood burner at home to keep the living room warm in winter, so it is quite normal for me to pick up and collect branches and logs from wherever I come across them, and just occasionally, before it gets chainsawn into burnable lengths, I see a form wrestling to express itself beneath the bark.
And Yes, it it normally a human or animal form that I see, and Yes, it is generally a female form i see,
This Stump had potential from both front and back, and so was saved the chop.
She now remind me of Venus looking at herself in a mirror.
The heart shaped Burr
The well placed Burr on the log gave the whole piece its focus.
Raw organic form
So this is a pic of the log fairly early on, once the bulk of the bark was removed and all the bugs dispersed, sitting on a couple of workmates, awaiting the saws, surforms, rasps and chisels needed to coax it into shape.
Though I removed a fair bit a matter to shape this, it was minimal really, in the scheme of things. A bit like the ancient Egyptians carvings on walls, they were "Light reliefs", not deep gouging.
