Artist Spotlight – Daryoush Ababaf (2)

We bought our first piece of 3D wood inlay (my terminology) from Daryoush Ababaf almost a year and a half ago. I featured that piece, a lioness resting her head on a branch, in a blog post shortly after we purchased it. We saw his work again this past December at the Christkindl Market in Arlington and found another piece that we decided needed to come home with us. It is a kingfisher sitting on a branch. I love the way this artisan combines found pieces of wood such as the beautiful branch he used in this piece with his 3D inlay.


If you get a chance to see Daryoush in person when he is selling his creations, ask him how they are made. Every time I have seen him, he has had examples of the various stages of a piece of work along with the tools of his trade with him and he is happy to show and explain how his pieces are created. The level of detail Daryoush captures using thin sections of wood is amazing. You should be able to find out about upcoming events on his facebook page. Treat yourself to some stunning artwork by viewing photos of his work in his facebook photo albums and on his website.

Artist Spotlight – Daryoush Ababaf

With this post I am standardizing my articles for sharing the amazing art that my husband and I purchase from artists whose work we admire and have added to our home. This past April, I wrote about two pieces we picked up at the beginning of this year. We have purchased from more artists this year than we have in the past several combined. I will be sharing these wonderful finds with you over the course of the next several months.

I want to start by sharing photos of this wonderful wooden sculpture by Daryoush Ababaf. We saw his work at the Christkindl Market in Arlington last year and were very impressed. Even though we saw several pieces that we admired, none asked to be taken home. This year one did. When we saw the sleeping lioness, we both fell in love with it. The relaxed beauty of this fabulous feline kept drawing us back. She is such a great accompaniment to a couple of bronzes that we purchased in Arkansas many years ago.

Daryoush’s skill at what is essentially 3D inlay is something I have never seen an equal to. He had some examples of different stages in his work at his booth to give visitors an idea of the process he goes through to construct his pieces. He picks from various woods to create the shadows and colorations needed to bring his creations to life. In addition to amazing depictions of nature the other works of his that I thought had outstanding form, movement and grace were his dancers. You can find examples of his work on his website and facebook page as well as keep up with where you can see his work in person next by liking his facebook page.