I salvaged some mystery wood from some trees that had been cut down along the CTA tracks. After I cut into it, I discovered it was box elder! I had been wanting to work with this kind of wood for quite some time.

This vase has some gorgeous light red streaks and darker spalting. With the light color of the wood, it almost looks like marble. I used my torch to create darker bands around the vase, but otherwise, I kept the vase fairly austere looking.