seal in elm

This seal is unusual. It is made from a plank of elm which was part of a groyne washed up on Mersea Island in Essex 

I use the planks as part of my display stand at shows. One of the planks was badly split and has been lying around for years until this week when it became this, slightly smaller version of the usual seals I make.There is a very strange aroma when you cut wood that has been immersed in seawater. Very unpleasant in the case of pine but elm was quite interesting.

Incidentally I was the winner of a lovely award one year from the British Toymakers Guild for the Best Dressed stand. It was an automata of a pair of disembodied clapping hands. When the prize was presented, Robert Nathan, the manager of the Guild announced " The award this year goes to Jeff Soan for his best dressed Groyne"