The Black Fisher and the Glint

The Black Fisher and the Glint is a cameo-style relief carving of a double-crested cormorant, carved in ebony and set with an emerald cabochon eye. The work began after I saw a photograph of the bird online and found myself drawn into its expression, colour and depth. I wanted to move beyond simply looking at the image and make that depth physical, bringing the bird into a form that could be held, turned over and examined closely.

The title gives the cormorant a near-mythic identity. “The Black Fisher” refers to the dark waterbird itself, a hunter, diver and watcher of the surface. “The Glint” refers first to the emerald eye, but also to the gold and silver leaf applied to the beak. Together, these elements create sharp moments of colour and light against the density of the ebony.

The finished piece exists as a small token, or pocket sculpture. Its scale invites handling, while the carved surface, edges, metal leaf and stone eye ask to be discovered through both sight and touch. I especially enjoyed the strong contrast of the piece: the blackness of the ebony holding these small flashes of green, gold and silver.