Forest Lantern began with a section of wood whose center had long since disappeared, leaving behind an irregular hollow shaped by time, decay, and the life of the tree itself. Rather than treating that void as something missing, I wanted to make it the focus of the piece.

I worked the outer form just enough to reveal the grain and soften the profile, while leaving the interior edge largely as nature created it. The contrast between those two surfaces—the finished wood and the rough, eroded center—is what gives the piece much of its character.

The light was added only after the form was established. Suspended within the opening, it illuminates the textures that would otherwise remain hidden and throws a warm glow across the interior of the wood.

What was once an empty space becomes the heart of the piece. Forest Lantern is less about adding something to the wood than about revealing what was already there.