The devil is in the details

Wood Sculpture II, originally uploaded by SWolfeNI8W.

I finished carving, but now there are countless hours ahead for detail work. I use small files and diamond rasps together with a variety of sanding methods to clean up the tool marks and smooth the surface. It seems rather tedious, but I find this work to be somewhat relaxing. I'm so focused that I lose track of time. For example, this evening I spent more than 5 hours at my carving bench without a break and I was surprised when Steve came down to the shop to say goodnight.