Cottonwood Bark Fish Key Hook

Here are some photos of a cottonwood bark carving I did today. It was a Christmas gift for a friend. She was over today baking with The Wife. I carved most of it with her watching. She even carved some of it. She had no idea it was for her until we gave it to her.

The board it is mounted to is local birch. I gouged a border around it.

When I was carving the bark, it broke in half on a natural split in the bark. I glued it back together and finished carving it. I think it’s natural character. The split is the diagonal line running through the fish.

The left (upstream) side of the cottonwood is much thicker than the downstream side. I did that on purpose so the fish is sort of in an S-shape with his head higher than his tail.

I woodburned the gills, fins, and eye. I’d never done that before, so it was a huge risk at the end of the project.

The finish is three coats of blonde shellac.

-- Tony - Anchorage, Alaska