After my wasp carving my wife complained that I never choose “nice” subjects so in the interest of harmony I decided to carve a daffodil.

Not easy as there were several problems to overcome. Firstly the stem had to be delicate and slender with a sharp bend where the flower head joined. Then there was the problem of grain direction with the petals protruding at right angles from the base of the flower.

The first was solved by using a piece of green yew which was bent using the heat of a candle. The three outer petals were carved separately from three segments of lime which when fitted together formed the base of the flower with the grain of each running along the length of each petal. Then it was a simple matter of carving the remaining petals and the trumpet and gluing them on. The stamens
were fashioned from a bamboo kebab skewer and the finished flower fitted to the stem.

The leaves were carved and the finished piece fitted into a walnut base and mounted in a terracotta pot.

Now to get on with my next carving. A SPIDER!!