Woodcarving has been around just about as long as man has been upon this earth. Due to wood being a material that will not withstand the test of time, woodcarvings must be protected and taken care of if they are to endure. Unlike stone carvings or sculptures that might be buried for thousands of years, due to wars and conquests or for whatever the reason and survive, imagine what would happen to a woodcarving or woodsculpture under those conditions. Between the elements and the insects, in a short time nothing would be left.

Man has always used wood. Adam was probably the first woodcarver. He must have used wood as one of his first tools. Maybe for a club, maybe for a walking stick or he could have tied a rock on a stick of wood and used it for a hammer. When he found a way to make an instrument sharp enough to hunt with, an arrow head or spear head may have been first but if so the knife couldn't have been far behind. What do you think a man with a knife living in the forest or jungle who is surrounded by standing and fallen trees would do to pass his time? Woodcarving just got its beginning. Was the date recorded in a book? There probably were no books. Besides, carving was so much fun who would take the time to write it down. He probably started out whittling or maybe carved other tools or utinsils out of wood. After a while he must have discovered he could carve or make just about anything he wanted out of wood. Carving could have been his favorite passtime, at least until Eve came along.

There is a country in the world where conditions are favorable enough that wood could survive for long periods of time without the best of care. The climate in Egypt is the only climate where this could happen. In 1860, eleven wooden panels were found that had been preserved under the sands for over 4000 years. Each of these panel measured two feet by one and one half feet. These panels are what us modern woodcarvers would call relief carvings. They were found in the tomb of Pharaon Hesy-Ra. The earliest three dimentional figure yet found is thought to have been carved around 2500 B.C. The carving is three feet high and is in the usual Egyption pose, walking forward with both feet flat on the ground and holding a staff in one hand. Wood was not plentiful in Egypt and the Acacia and the Sycamore were the only trees growing suitable for carving. These tree's were so scarce that they were considered sacred.

Woodcarving is mentioned in the Bible in the book of Exodus, Chapter 35 which was probably written by Moses. It reads as follows:

29... The Children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the Lord, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the Lord had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.

30...And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the Lord hath called by name Be-zal'e-el the son of U'ri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;

31... And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship;

32... And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,

33...And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work

Notice how the Bible says God gave these people the wisdom, understanding and knowledge to do this work. Any wisdom, skill or talent that we have are not due to our own greatness, but are gifts from God and we should thank Him for them.

While there are indications that almost every country practiced the art of woodcarving, none have survived for thousands of years as in Egypt.

During the Dark Ages Woodcarving had its ups and downs.In Europe,the art of Woodcarving was pretty much confined to Monasteries as that was the only place that was safe enough practice it. There were many wars and acts of barbarism taking place at that time. 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. This included images of any kind such as woodcarving and even paintings. This was brought about by artists who were copying Roman sculptures of pagan gods, pagan emblems and symbols. Many artists left for other parts of Europe where Monasteries employeed craftsmen and artists of all kinds to worked on the monasteries themselves. The woodcarving that was done in these monasteries were mostly relief carvings done in doors and wooden panels. Carvings done in each country in Europe were remarkably simular which can be attributed to the fact that the carvers traveled from monastary to monastary practicing their trade.

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. In England carvings were also based on stone carvings. These carvings were not usually statues but decorative carvings. Some of these seem to be based on carvings done in Denmark and Norway. Centurys later Scandinavian woodcarvers seem to have been influenced by stone carvings done in England. Some carvings done between 1000 A.D. and 1200 A.D. can still be found in old Churches in England. These woodcarvings naturally were protected from the elements otherwise they could not have survived.

Many woodcarvings over the years have been destroyed due to neglect. Others have been intentionally destroyed by wars and acts against the churches. Many also were destroyed in the name of improvement, such as replacing older carvings with newly done carvings.

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.

Chip carving is the art of decorating wood furniture, doors, spoons, religious fixtures, spoons, chests, boxes, clocks and just about anything that is made from wood. It can make an otherwise plain object a piece of art worth many times the cost of the origional construction. Great care and skill must be employeed in making the angled cuts. A workshop full of tools is not needed in order to preform chip carving. Some chip carvers say that all that is needed is a couple of special though inexpensive knives, while others prefer just a few more.

There is no end to variety of designs that can be concieved for chip carving. Chip Carving is accomplished by making angled cuts into wood which results in clean chips being removed from same. The chips are removed to form a pattern or shape of one kind or the other. The design could be a geometrical pattern, the shape of a person, an amimal or just about anything the imagination can come up with.

Chip carving has been practiced in most countrys over many centuries and examples can be found in each of them. Ceremonial tool handles and boat paddles have been found in the South Pacific Islands which were carved with repetitive deep cuts, likely done with pieces of sea shells, bits or bone or even sharks teeth. Like carvings done today they must have taken many hours to complete.

The art of chipcarving owes much to the northern countries of Europe, including England and Ireland. Churches in Northern Germany which were built in the 8th century have examples of this type carvings done in stone.

During the Gothic Period from the late 1100s through the early 1500s the stone mason was second to no other craftsman. The art of woodcarving thrived but took a backseat to stone masonery. Great cathedrals were built during this period due to the invent if Gothic Architecture. There were no architects in those days to calculate the angles and draw up the plans. There was no computer aided draftsmen to help. All they had were what they called master planners. The stone masons took the master planners plans and inturpeted them in their own way. The craftsmen came from all over to help construct the great buildings. There were lodges provided for this multitude of stone masons and craftsmen to stay in. These Lodges were the origins of the Masonic Lodges of today. When a great building was completed the craftsmen would move on to another one.

At the very beginning of the Gothic Period the interior decoration of the cathedrals were done almost completely in stone. A little later wood was introduced. The woodcarvers imitated the carvings which had been done in stone. As time went on, woodcarvers seemed to realize that they were not limited in what they could do as the stone masons were. The propertys of wood offered a medium in which intricate designs and patterns could be carved. This was something that could not be done in stone. Examples of this can be seen in the elaborate decorative carvings on pulpits, choir stalls, alters and other church fixtures. The woodcarvers had become experts in their field and the carvings continued to become more and more elaborate. The art had made a 180 degree turn and now the stone carvers were trying to imitate the woodcarvers. Even today, the architecture of the Gothic Period serves as an almost limitless bank of ideas for the modern chip carver.

In Sweden during the 1700s and 1800s chip carving was commonly used to decorate chairs, tables, clocks and other household furniture. The influence of this type carving has spread throughout the world through imigration and schools set up to teach the subject. Modern day chip carvers benefit from the wealth of information that has been accumulated over the centuries and experience that has been passed down from carver to apprentice and from carver to student. This is a continuing process teaching and sharing of experiences and ideas.