I carved this walnut ketubah at my workshop in West Asheville, NC. The couples’ vows were laser engraved on curly maple, which I then inlaid into the larger piece.

This piece was shipped up to the state of New York where it will be signed and displayed at the wedding then displayed in their home for years to come. The quotes, one English, one Hebrew were hand carved on either side of the vows and read, “Let me be a seal up your heart as love is fierce as death”. The shape of the text is meant to represent a candle flame, and the design carved into the walnut us mandala inspired. As most of my design do, this started in a sketch book along side a handful of variations. Below are some photos to see the process unfold.

To start, below you’ll see one of the sketches that kicked off this design.

Next the design was refined in Adobe Illustrator, this allowed the circular patterns to come to life in its true symmetrical form.

Here is the final mock up which would then be transferred to wood.

Then, with a variety of skew and straight chisels I proceeded with the relief carving.