Furnished content.
(from Lumberjocks.com)
This was a scrap of cherry. While looking at it trying to decide how to carve it, there was no way I could figure to make it into a bird, so it ended up being a fish. I thought about an orca, but the tail goes the wrong way for a mammal, so that's right out.There was a big knot on the right hand (starboard?) side that fell out once I started carving around it. Between that and the crazy grain from that bit of branch, carving this was an exercise in patience.Finish was a coat of shellac to fill the pores, sanded back with 400 grit wet-dry, and re-shellacked, then two coats of BLO, with a few wipes of shellac in between to add a little sheen.In the end, I think it came out okay, and it feels great in the hand. Total length is about 3 inches or 9cm.