Meeting
By Moonlight
Hippo
tooth
As
a carver I often like to set myself challenges - if you look at the lichen
found in clumps on trees you will see something resembling a small shrub
with flattened branches shaped rather like a moose's antler. I started
at the tip of a small Hippo tooth with nothing else in mind and when I
realized it was going to work I decided to make a carving with it.
Finding the photographs of it again after a few years, I am somewhat surprised with it. There is a certain quality which very much appeals to me. I like the way the strong moonlight bleaches the top of the lichen; the deep shade on the activity beneath; the bustle of the ants and the way the snail prepares to climb.
I find that when I finish a carving I would rather not see it again for a few years for they disappoint me; somehow the end result is never quite as exciting as the original vision. Now I can be more objective I find this one does it for me. I think I would quite like to own it.