History
Woodcarving has been around just about as long as man has been upon this earth. Man has always used wood. Adam was probably the first woodcarver. He may have used wood as one of his first tools.
The history of humanity is intimately linked to wood and its carving. Wood has been fundamental to the human being since prehistoric times and was indispensable in the development of the planet's great civilizations, not only to satisfy basic subsistence needs, but also to express the sacred need to spiritually transcend. In fact, in the most important temples and museums of the world we find true works of art in wood, where the divine and the sacred have found a form of expression through wood's plasticity and grace.
During the Dark Ages Woodcarving had its ups and downs. In Europe, the art of Woodcarving was pretty much confined to Monasteries as it was the only place that was safe enough practice it. From about 700 A.D. to about 900 A.D. the art or practice of making images was strictly forbidden in some parts of Europe. After the year 1000 artists felt more freedom and began to open up with thier work.
Woodcarvers were influenced by stone carvings and based some of their work on remains uncovered in parts of Europe such as Italy. These carvings were not usually statues but decorative carvings. Some of these seem to be based on carvings done in Denmark and Norway. Some carvings done between 1000 A.D. and 1200 A.D. can still be found in old Churches in England.
The ancient Greeks used wood in their archaic sculpture, but they came to prefer the more durable media of bronze and stone, as did the Romans.
In northern Europe wood has been an important sculptural medium, especially in Germany, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia. It played a significant role in England and France and formed the backbone of Spanish sculpture from the Romanesque to the baroque period
In the Far East, wood carving has been a vigorous branch of sculpture, particularly in the art of India, China, and Japan, as seen in carved wooden Buddha's.
The popularity of woodcarving in the United States grew rapidly when Europeans emigrated to North America in the 1600s and brought their trade along for the ride. According to Everett Ellenwood, author of The Complete Book of Woodcarving, early American settlers primarily carved useful items such as bowls and wagon wheel spokes
The North American Indians used wood not only for weapons, utensils, and masks; the totem poles of the northwestern coast serve as family and clan emblems and sometimes record hierarchies of gods and animals.
In the U.S., where wood had played a prominent part in the 18th and 19th centuries in various forms of folk art, its use as a sculptural medium dwindled in the first half of the 20th century .During the 19th century, wood was used mainly for church and domestic furniture and in architectural details.
Over the centuries woodcarving has undergone may changes but has never died. Like in the beginning when the man was alone in the garden with his knife, as long as there is wood and there is man, there will be woodcarvings and
