Very cool! Fascinating characteristic of the wood. For a second there, based on the first two photos, I thought the effect you were going for was similar to the busts that appear to be looking at you from most angles in the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland:
Might also make for a cool Halloween project. Cut inverse reliefs to create a similar optical illusion, like a mold. They use rear lighting too, though, so the material would ideally be only semi-opaque and the cuts would need to get dangerously close to the bottom of the stock without going through. Of course, and I’m just throwing things out there, it might be better to cut a positive relief as usual, then use a vacuum former to pull a negative with thin plastic that is easily rear lit…
