I made this nesting table set exclusively for my portfolio. My intention was to show my diversity. I knew I wanted to create an unusual furniture piece that was both functional and artistic.

Because I was really interested in learning bas relief, I took a weekend to learn how to carve wood from a master sculptor in Southern Vermont named Julian Isaacson. I brought down a discarded set of nesting tables that needed some love. Julian taught me the basics of how to carve using a hammer, various chisels, veiner tools, and an imprinting stamp. With that knowledge, I was able to carve the snake directly onto the tabletop.

“The Table of Temptation” represents the evil we see in others. This set of nesting tables is functional and helpful, but because of the color scheme and the serpent on the surface, our minds automatically connect this piece with darkness and evil. My question to viewers is this: how can we overcome our biases and see what is actually right in front of us?

To begin, I sketched out several bas relief designs that included snakes. Because I had never carved wood previously, I was unsure of what designs would be achievable. Luckily, Julian was able to help me figure out which concepts would work and which would be difficult to accomplish. I sketched my final design directly onto the tabletop and started carving from there.

This nesting table set was most likely built in the 1960’s. I couldn’t dig too deeply into the wood because of how the table was constructed, but I still wanted the snake to appear as if it were popping out of the table. So I chipped away the wood around the snake to make it appear raised or lifted. Next, I carved the finer details on the body of the snake. After the carving was completed, I sanded both tables and painted them with black homemade chalk paint. For the snake, I used primer and then acrylic paint. The eyes are glass beads, which I embedded into the wood. Finally, I sealed everything with polycrylic.

In Western culture, snakes usually symbolize temptation. According to the Old Testament, the devil took the form of a serpent and tempted Eve to eat the apple from the Tree of Knowledge. This story has been so ingrained into our psyches that snakes are often seen as manifestations of evil. Similarly, as humans, we often see evil where there is none. It is an illusion of the mind that I feel is worth examining, breaking, and reconstructing.