Worthington Foster

“The Cradle” is made of two blocks of Basswood glued together. I then used a chisel and hammer to sculpt the wood. The only other tools that I used were a rasp and sandpaper to form the fingers and to get into those hard to reach places. Once the woodwork was completed, I had to find the perfect way to finish off the piece. I decided to barrow a blowtorch from a buddy of mine and I proceeded to char the heck out of it. After the smoke cleared I sanded it down again to get the silky smooth finish. Burning the wood gave me the color, depth and texture that I was looking for. I purposefully sculpted the piece so that it would balance on a flat surface, but I decide to incorporate a base to accentuate the lines and make the piece more dramatic. I chose a simple block of cedar because of its rich red color and for the flecks of gold that I found when I chiseled away the wood. I wanted to keep it raw and simple and I think that it works perfectly.