‘Very Fragile.’ That’s what it says inside the little bag. Not to worry, though, as Jack will soon find security in a new ebony home (see below) under his tree. As you can see, things have been moving along quickly! Our subject has his headphones, and has been set in a permanently relaxed position on his Adirondack chair. Things have been going so smoothly (that’s what 18 months of sketching and planning will get you), that Alembic expects the medallion to be completed and placed in the guitar within a week!

If you have a moment, please reacquaint yourself with the color mockup here. It will give you an idea as to the high level of skill and attention to detail present in this piece of art. It truly is remarkable, and as good as it looks here, folks at the shop have been telling me that it is even more impressive in person. I’m also told that jaws are regularly dropping during the shop tour when people enter James’ sanctuary and see what he’s working on.

Pictured below is the piece of ebony into which all the individual objects will be inlayed. Note that for each item cut, its exact counterpart needs to likewise be cut out of this ebony, so it all fits together as a flat, finished piece – making this project (at least) doubly difficult!

Here is a VERY exciting picture to share! I’ve been waiting for this one for a long time. This is the first glimpse of the actual medallion inlay. For the past few weeks, master inlay artist James has been painstakingly bringing Susan and Mica’s artwork to life – here you see the most important and one of the most intricate portions of the inlay. Each tooth, rib, spinal disc, shirt button, etc. is its own individually cut piece of material, meticulously combined to make one solid object. Shown here as a rough sanding, things will shine up quite nicely when the medallion is finally placed in the body of the guitar.

Over the next few weeks, I expect steady progress as the inlay is completed.

Below are a couple of lower legs whose individual bones have been put together, and are now waiting patiently to be united with their femora.