Wood Carving:

Wood carving is a form of woodcraft. It's done using a cutting tool to carve out figures or figurines or ornamenting wooden objects. Wood carving may also refer to individual products like sculptures or hand worked moldings. The best examples of ancient wood carvings are from the Middle Ages in Italy and France. The common theme during those times was Christian iconography. Well known examples of wood carving from 16th and 17th century England are still preserved. These are mostly made out of oak. The decoration of wood has been a widely practiced art from the earliest ages. Human nature has an ingrained tendency to ornament every article of use. Native Americans or Red Indians carve their fishing hooks or the stems of their peace pipes. Polynesians carve patterns into their paddles and boating oars. The natives of Guyana decorate their cavassa grater with well conceived schemes of incised scrolls. Figure carving is a widespread activity. Most societies represent their Gods in tangible forms and find expressions in numerous ways. The early carvers as well as modern carvers find that giving expression to eyes is one of the most difficult tasks. At times, some carvers get away from this difficulty by inlaying the eyes with colored materials.
Wood Carving Techniques

There are various techniques of wood carving:

Chip Carving:

The process of chip carving uses knives to remove small chips of wood from the project surface in a single piece. Chip carvings have two planes. The planes consist of the wood surface and the point below the surface where the cuts intersect. The patterns in chip carving are of a free form style and are based on geometric figures. Special chip carving knives are available for this type of carving.
Relief Carving:

Relief carving is done by a tedious and lengthy process. The piece of wood to be carved is first fixed on the work bench by means of screws or clamps. The carver sketches the main lines of the proposed idea on paper. Details of the final carving like flowers, foliage or other subjects are detailed. The space between the lines are gouged out by the carver. The carver models and carves out the shapes of his pattern and balances the lights and shadows. Once the desired pattern is obtained, all the cuts are cleaned. Relief carved works are finished at once and not done in stages.