Hello Everyone,
Yes Kevin, you are right. I have been carving since I was five years old. I started with small little carvings like e.g. flower ladder. My grandfather taught me with little steps, I got my first knife from him for my fifth birthday. And yes, I used chisels and gouges and knife as well. I made it from walnut, this is a very hard wood when it has that dark brown colour, when it has a lighter color (sometimes quite white) it is softer. I made it to order. The wood was provided by the client, planted by his great-grandfather in memory of his grandfather’s birth (this used to be a tradition in our country, today it is being applied again). Therefore, he had an emotional attachment to the material. After his father’s death, he found it in the attic of the shed, it was chewed a little by the beetle, already seen in the pictures sometimes.
He thought it was still usable and asked me to examine it and if possible I could make something out of it to remain as a memory. I asked him if there was any major event in the family? Yes, there was an answer, we are expecting a grandchild. Then I had the idea that as much material as I could save would be enough for a cradle. He found my idea great and asked me to make it, so the cradle is made for the unborn granddaughter (he later said that was a girl) of my client. It was used by his granddaughter until she was 9 months old, after which it is kept in the apartment as an ornament. This is how the story of the tree, which spans generations, ended.