art and games 3

after letting the sycamore slab dry for a week and a half, i was out today assessing what of it i could use, half is very badly rotted but i managed to cut away this piece which is about seven feet long and two feet wide and relatively stable, though one end may need further excising. 

it will form the base of the game board. 

i really like the idea of scale with this piece, where the slab can be seen as a landscape from very high up. it needs many many hours of sanding to remove the tool marks left by the chainsaw. then i can begin some finish sanding/scraping to get the wood to a stage where i can begin to overlay the other elements. there is a large pitted area which reminds me of a strip mine in some ways.