One of my regular customers asked me if I could carve wood. Although I’ve worked with wood in the past, I’d never carved lettering or symbols in this medium. However, this was the result.
This White Tara mantra was carved from a 92 x 16 x 2 cm piece of reclaimed mahogany. I mainly used 0.8 and 1.6 mm Foredom carbide burrs along with some old needle-point burrs (essentially worn down carbide burrs that are approximately 0.5 mm or less).
Once the mantra was carved, I applied two coats of yacht varnish to the wood. After this had fully cured, the symbols were enamelled with two coats of metallic gold 1-Shot. Following the curing of the enamel, I hand sanded the wood (down to 1200 grade) and the piece received a final coat of yacht varnish.
The Tam syllable design is used with kind permission from Tashi Mannox.
HATCH BURN CARVE 