My inspiration came from the Lotus flower. Each petal of the flower is individually handcarved and then joined together.

I start with 3/4" thick wood to form each flower petal. The flower petal is first sketched on the wood and then cut out with a saw.

The wooden shape is then hand-held, while I use a round burr back and forth, in a very slow, delicate motion to remove the wood bit by bit until I get a flower petal.

I finally reduce the flower petals down to about 1/32 of an inch thick. After all of the flower petals are completed, I choose a wood base and it all starts coming together.

Completing the process is a long and painstaking procedure. The pieces are then held in place with hot glue while the waterproof glue is applied. After the waterproof glue dries, the hot glue is removed and the flower is then put in its wood base. All pieces are natural wood with a clear finish applied several times. I feel that each flower I complete is a celebration of the tree that it came from!

- Raymond Harrison

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