Intarsia butterfly

Intarsia is an old craft, meaning "mosaic in wood." Individual pieces are cut from different woods then glued together (usually on a backer like this piece) to form a picture. This butterfly is made from 43 pieces of maple and Purpleheart. The light and dark colors contrast nicely. I entered one of these in our local Fair, where it won second prize.

The butterfly intarsia is 10 inches wide, about 5 1/2 high, and 7/8 thick. I finished it with polyurethane to bring out the wood colors' beauty and preserve it for many years of display in the home.