I sculpted the Yin, feminine walking stick, from a fallen piece of Honey, or maybe Black Locust that was salvaged by an old friend, Gordon Seasley in the state park on the outskirts of Bloomington, Indiana. Only a suggestion of a human vulva was apparent in the salvaged piece as found. The piece appeared to be rotted through. As I began working, the beauty of the Honey Locust grain became apparent.

Honey and Black Locust and other species are susceptible to attack by a canker fungus,”Thyronectria canker is a common fungal disease of honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos), occurring wherever this tree is grown. Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) and Kentucky coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus) have also been reported to be susceptible to the disease.” This disease figures the wood, sometimes in dramatic ways.

These sculptures are in an ancient tradition of fertility and sexual wood carving, Ghana, Asante.