I don't think the author 'invented' the 'waxless' etymology. Can't remember specifics, but I'm sure I've heard it before ...

Was it Da Vinci who said:

As the marble wastes, the statue appears."?

This could be the original source of the concept, Jomama.

What a transcendent thought!

It was fully-formed in his mind, of course -- when the statue was only a block.