Flower Stool (no.05), 2022, handcarved cedar. All of the works in this suite of carvings are made from solid pieces of Deodar Cedar collected from fallen trees around Altadena. These trees originate from the Himalayas and the name Deodar is an anglicized form of the sanskrit word devadāru. Deva meaning “divine” and Dāru being a composite of “truth” and “tree.” The flower is a motif I have explored in many iterations. I often look to the natural world around me as a starting point, studying the rings of a tree and finding shapes emanating from a central source.