HESTIA

A Yellow Birch burl driven by prolonged stress within the tree, producing exceptionally compressed and highly figured grain. The surface has an almost three-dimensional quality, with shimmering bands of figure that shift dramatically as the piece is viewed from different angles. This extreme chatoyancy is characteristic of highly figured birch, but is especially pronounced here, with the grain appearing to move beneath the surface rather than simply lie across it. Small checks in the surface have been carefully filled with blue epoxy for subtle accenting.

The form follows the natural swelling of the knot while retaining portions of its original exterior. Unlike the coarse bark of a typical Yellow Birch trunk, the bark surrounding this burl has become unusually smooth and tight as the formation grew.