Cindy, glad you are back and hope you can spend more time with us. Congratulations on the scholarships!
I too am fan if the marquetry and hope to give it a try this year.
I can not give finishing advice, I know little about it. Glad you asked because I have learned from the responses you received. That is a very nice cutting you did. Please post another picture after you finish it.
Hey Les, if it turns out to be more wrong with the motor than you hoped, maybe this is a way to go, make a deal with for this to be sent to you.
https://kpr.craigslist.org/tls/d/rbi-hawk-scroll-saw-ac-motor/6451341688.html
Welcome to the forum. You have lots of good advice so far and the only things I might add is make sure you have proper blade tension. Too little and the blade will wonder. You should hear a high pitch "ping" when you pluck the blade. And dull or poor quality blades will also make it harder to control you cut.
What you has shown us not bad at all, keep at it and it will keep getting better.
I did some antler, it was easy to scroll. Fine tooth blade. I hope to get time to play with cutting soap stone, in the future. I have turned it on the wood lathe, so I'm thinking I can cut it.
Congratulations! That is a heck of a good deal. I'd have another saw also if I came across a deal that good. I've only cut maybe 3 pattern where I need more than a 16" saw. I'm doing another "Last Supper" right now and glad I have the 21" but with spiral blades I could still do it on a 16". It would just be a little more difficult.
This is the U.S. site. It is where I purchased my patterns. They come with English instructions.
http://woodyoubelieveshop.blogspot.com/p/patterns-on-cd.html