The little board nobody wanted

While working on clearing out my Dad's house, a certain board would always catch my eye.  My Dad was a woodworker and a great hoarder collector of boards.  This one particular board was spalted, possibly maple and about four feet long.  The reason it wasn't wanted is that it was so bowed that when it was laying flat, the middle was almost 3/4" higher than the ends.  I must admit I picked it up many times, admiring the discoloration of the wood, then put it back down.  On our last trip to the house I picked it up knowing it might just be something special.

The board has sat in the garage for the past six months, still bowed.  A couple of days ago I thought if I cut off a piece, the bow wouldn't be so bad and perhaps it could make something useful for photograpy.  If nothing else, it would make a good practise piece for me to work on.

I cut it into a shape of an old fashioned bread board, shaped the edges and sanded and sanded.  When it was smooth enough I gave it a coat of hemp oil and oh my, the grains and the spalting gobsmacked me.  I don't think I've ever seen such a beautiful piece of wood.

Instead of "just" using it for photography, I had to bake bread to shoot with it.  I used the no-knead artisan bread recipe, quite easy to google, with 1 cup multigrain flour and 2 cups white flour.

And the bread turned out quite tasty as well.

The moral of the story? Well, with most of you being photographers and creative people, appreciating the beauty in old objects and crooked wood, I'm sure you know the moral of the story.

Kim's texture kk_ugglove was used in all three photos to add a little texture to the background.

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