Wood carving

The phrase may also refer to the finished product, from individual sculptures to hand-worked mouldings composing part of a tracery.

The making of sculpture in wood has been extremely widely practised, but does not survive undamaged as well as the other main materials like stone and bronze, as it is vulnerable to decay, insect damage, and fire.

[1] Outdoor wood sculptures do not last long in most parts of the world, so it is still unknown how the totem pole tradition developed.

Wood is light and can take very fine detail so it is highly suitable for masks and other sculpture intended to be worn or carried.

[2] Some of the finest extant examples of early European wood carving are from the Middle Ages in Germany, Russia, Italy, and France, where the typical themes of that era were Christian iconography.

Less commonly, this same principle is used in solid pieces of wood, where the fork of two branches is utilized for its divergent grain, or a branch off of a larger log is carved into a beak (this was the technique employed for traditional Welsh shepherd's crooks, and some Native American adze handles).

The failure to appreciate these primary rules may constantly be seen in damaged work, when it will be noticed that, whereas tendrils, tips of birds beaks, etc., arranged across the grain have been broken away, similar details designed more in harmony with the growth of the wood and not too deeply undercut remain intact.

[3] Probably the two most common woods used for carving[4] in North America are basswood (aka tilia or lime) and tupelo; both are hardwoods that are relatively easy to work with.

For harder woods, the sculptor may use gouges sharpened with stronger bevels, about 35 degrees, and a mallet similar to a stone carver's.