Whilst we know that we can use wood for fuel, homes, tool handles and many other practical uses it is also a great medium for sculpture. What is it about the use of wood that makes things so special? Perhaps it is our natural love of the trees that we seek to unleash their inner spirit. This was the thinking behind the native American people who created the totem pole. It was also the thoughts behind the maypole to celebrate the coming of spring. It is why we have adopted the German tradition of bringing in an Evergreen and decorated it.

As the Southampton Timber Merchants http://www.timbco.co.uk/ will tell you wood is a perfect material to create whatever you want from it. The ability to sculpt the trees into a shape using traditional tools or just a quick chainsaw is universal.

For the most part it seems that animals are the most popular choice but human figures are also easy to do. Gloucester has a famous carved wood trail that is a perfect example of the types of art you can see and what can be done. There are plenty of artists still wanting to use this beautiful material.