And Tomorrow Weeps in a Blind Cage

1992

John Wooller, Victoria, Australia

H. 30" x W. 20" x D. 6"; Jarrah burl
Photo by David Staley

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This piece is one of a series based on the poetry of Dylan Thomas in which each piece expresses some aspect of a particular poem. In "Poem on his Birthday," from which the title is taken, he muses on what he perceives to be the futility of not only his life but life in general. As can be seen, it was turned on 10 axes, 2 one side and 8 the other. Wood was removed from the "front," the "back," and from the "edge." The challenge was to make the long "edge" cut satisfactorily and also to make the "cage." This was cut from the front and through the hollow form the back, thus giving the impression from one side of being on the outside of the cage and from the other of being on the inside. Supporting the work during these processes was a challenge in itself. It was achieved by gluing the work to pieces of waste wood by which it was mounted on the lathe. These pieces of waste wood were removed after the work had been completed on each axis. A small amount of wood was removed by hand carving after the turning had been completed.<Challenge V