24 March 2013

Some days, it's not worth opening up your toolbox

So I have been, for the last month and change, making the final decorative elements on the altar.  This, sadly, involves carving, which is really not my forte.  I carved the sixteen rosettes without too much muss and fuss, and then set out for the final six corner appliques. 

A long story short:  They are not coming out well.  The first one was coming along so so when, just as I was nearly finished, the wood cracked and broke, and two small pieces fell into my pile of shavings.  After sifting through the shavings, I found one piece.  Sadly, I needed both if I was to glue the thing back together. Result: two hours work in the trash.  Three, if you count the amount of time I spent going through shavings.  I only had a little bit of time to do any work today, and the end result was that not only was I not any further along than when I started, I was actually behind.

I suppose it's just as well.  The corner appliques are fuzzy in my photograph.  My design called for a very fine degree of work, perhaps too fine. If this is going to be a real problem, then it may be better for me to redesign the applique for a more robust decoration, one that will stay together for five more minutes of carving.  I've considered leaving the space blank, but it just looks too empty. 

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