Candy Cane Holder [Dec 2022] get a link to this artwork

katalox
[6" high x 1.5" diameter]

While cutting into some katalox for my recent Kokeshi Dolls, I found that the piece I had first tried wasn't the usual dark brown with creamy off-white sapwood. Instead it was lighter colored with tinges of purple in the grain. I first though the wood was maybe just mislabeled (which is still a possibility), but it cuts like katalox, tickles my allergies like katalox, and is about as dense as katalox, so it really seems like katalox! But it wouldn't work for the kokeshi doll I want to make. And worse, while I was deciding what to do, I had set it aside while still quite wet (I bought it as green wood) and hadn't sealed the endgrain. As it dried, it was starting to crack. Aaaaaa! So I decided I should use it before I lose it. I needed a candy cane holder; et voilà, a candy cane holder I made. I burned a band around it for contrast. I'm really curious if the wood will darken over time.