laws of strength in wood working as typically you want the grain to run the length on the carving. on this piece the grain is running horizontal to the piece which makes it extra frail and susceptible to breaking but because of how i wanted the grain to run on the frame i did not have an option. the open span of the wreath runs 12 3/4" long on each side.
the back side of the wreath had to be carved as well to create a realistic look in the reflection of the mirror. by the end of creating this piece the work was so fragile that i had to support 