International Wood Collectors Society

A Dedicated Group of Wood Collectors and Crafters

A Box of Old Money

It Looks Like An Awesome Box Of Money. When You Take A Closer Look, It’ll Seriously Blow Your Mind. - January 15, 2014

A skill like woodworking takes years and thousands of hours to become more than just a proficient at, but this invested that time to be a certifiable master. His name is Randall Rosenthal and he has talent that can result in mind-bending illusions. The project in the gallery below all started with three pieces of white pine he glued together. What he turned that block of wood into is so cool.

image002
He glued the pieces of pine together as a base.

Once the adhesive cured, he was ready to begin carving the block.
image004
It wasn’t uniform.

image006

image008
Hmm….

image010

image012
This is where the project began looking like the final project: a cardboard box.

By chipping away at the block of wood and hollowing out different sections, he was able to create the illusion that it was a box containing something.

image014

He spent hours carefully carving the sides to give the illusion of corrugated cardboard.

image016
Sawmill Creek

image018
The effect was incredible.

image020

image022
He took a break from the hours of carving to begin adding paint to the piece.
He carefully painted what was to be inside of the box: stacks of money.

image024
Not only is Randall a gifted woodworker, but his painting skills are incredible as well

image026
After being painstakingly careful painting the bills and their details, he began slowly
adding color to the cardboard.

image028
Since “cardboard” isn’t something you can paint on in one sitting, he had to add
light, washed out layers over and over.

image030
Stunning.


image032

image034
He was able to carve something with so much depth and texture out of a simple
block of wood.
The finished product, “Old Money,” is incredibly realistic.

image036
No matter how long I stare at this, I can’t be convinced that it’s NOT a box of money.

image038
A Japanese TV station interviewed Randall because of this incredible work.

image040
Old Money was such a hit, he is being commissioned to make a second box.

image042
The finished product, a real wood carving and a fake cardboard box, is an awesome illusion. No matter how long I stare at Old Money, it just looks like a cardboard box.

Source:  sawmillcreek.org