Thanks all for the kind comments:
Greg-I'd love to do another Charlotte Area get together and would be happy to do a demo, unfortunately I can't commit to planning an event at this time. If you want to put something together at Ricks or someplace else just let me know and we can work something out.
Dennis- I'm certainly still on the student side. I;m making progress but still have alot to learn. Now, if you want a lesson in how to do it wrong-I'm your man:wink_smil
Matt F - The maple leaf is made with dyed red anigre and the black is dyed pearwood. Paduak would probably have worked but does not cut all that well in veneer form (very brittle) Also, as an FYI Dyed Koto also does not cut very well, it's very hard to get the small edges. Dyed Poplar, pearwood, and anigre seem to be the best for hand cutting.
Matt Z- Your right the pictures do look good-Thanks for helping figure out a quick and easy way to improve my photography skills, and thanks for all the info along the way!