Front page - Each box is presented with a CD and birth certificate with all the drawings, sketches and photographs taken during the project.
Selecting the veneers
Building up the Marquetry pattern using the window method
Final figure ready for pressing into the routed valley
Katakana script finished by hand and routed to depth
Scribing the outline with a scalpel - First attempt at dovetails using a homemade jig
The picture together with "Memoirs of a Geisha" that inspired the project in the first place.
A view of the top of the box
Steak knives from local supplier, hardware from Brusso New York
I needed a dovetail jig so set about researching options. A most rewarding project designing and laser cutting the jig which was used only once!

Magic pieces of Aromatic Cedar for the arms and Pink Ivory for the dress. The veneer was all hand cut about 1mm thick and inset using standard Marquetry techniques. The inscription Piitaa, Pooriin, Ed-ee was downloaded in Katakana script, sized and defined with a scalpel onto the top. The script definition was highlighted with graphite and hand finished, the letters routed and filled with African Blackwood sawdust/epoxy.
BOX #8  The GEISHA