Cameo Staff

I salvaged the birch sapling for this staff from a cleared area near my house. I love how pretty birch bark is, and wanted to carve an image that went along with it. It's been a while since I last carved a face staff, so I went with a profile for this one. Almost like a cameo image. Hence the title.

The problem with birch wood is that it's SO smooth and pale that every imperfection in the carving shows up like it was drawn on with a pen. I think the celtic knotwork could have been cleaned up a little more, but the tiny details kept chipping away and I was afraid if I kept at it I'd end up with a moon-shaped hole running right through the staff. Fortunately the hair turned out EXACTLY the way I wanted it.