Spider's Box

"Spider's Box"   Walnut, silver, mother of pearl  12 x 8 x 6h

The summer's project was a flagstone patio. Two months of spare time with dirt, gravel, stone; shovel, mattock, maul. There was occasional need for finesse but mostly coarse work. By the end I was ready for something finer and this project fit the bill.

It was an idea I had been sitting on for months, inspired by a photo I took of this black and yellow garden spider. A loose interpretation.

I started doing a little inlay after watching my brother build some guitars. These days guitars is where we are most likely to see the inlay artisan's work. Anything above $2K for an acoustic guitar and you are probably paying for fancier inlay on the headstock, fretboard, or sound hole rosette. But previous efforts on my part were simple dots or singular cut pieces of mother of pearl or wood. This was by far the most challenging. I bought a good book, The Art of Inlay by Larry Robinson, which gave helpful tips and some outrageous examples.

The inside of the lid is fitted with a mirror. Drawers are lined with red velvet and the dividers are white oak. Blood and bone.

Interestingly this piece spawned a short story. I am an amateur writer, of that there is no doubt. But why not put it down? What could possibly be lost in trying? I enjoyed the effort.

I would like to sell this piece. I have a lot in it for materials and would like to recoup the cash to feed my habit, um hobby. So if you need a box for small precious things or know someone who does I'm asking $1000.

That's a lot of money for a box, certainly more than I could spend. But I'm not sure I would make another one for the same money in my present situation. I almost never make something twice. I know it's supposed to be the journey not the destination but most the motivation is wanting to see a completed object that was just an idea, to see how close I can get. Once I know I don't need to see it again.