This Busy Life
This was carved in response to Kodo's leaves, one of which I was lucky enough to see a few years ago. It is a remarkable piece of work, over a foot long, (if my memory serves me) and paper thin in places - so thin that it flexes alarmingly when held, which somehow makes it almost aggressive in the sense that any slight accident would almost certainy break it. It is almost like the artist saying "I dare you to hold this".This piece (about 4 inches long) does not terrify, although it too is paper thin. By virtue of its construction (it is curled over at both edges) it is a great deal stronger than it looks. I have included some close-ups here for your delectation.
It is a copy of a fern leaf. Each of its side branches, which are normally splayed out is touching its neighbours to give the work strength; the ants, which are deeply undercut, bustle about inside and out. In some places the material has been so delicately carved that it it is almost transparent.This took almost 2 months to make.