🪓 Woodland Sculpture Concepts — From Digital Inspiration to Real Wood

As a woodworker, I’ve always been drawn to animals — not just as subjects, but as symbols of place, rhythm, and nature’s quiet character. This collection of wildlife carving concepts began as an exploration in AI-generated design. Using digital tools, I visualized a handful of possible sculptures: iconic Canadian animals imagined in hand-carved wood, each with its own personality and texture.

🪿 The Canada Goose

This stylized goose was inspired by decoy carvings and traditional Canadian folk art. The form is sleek, with layered feather details and strong contrasts in wood tone. It’s a grounded, elegant shape — the kind of piece that might sit quietly on a windowsill or shelf, always looking just a little proud.

🦌 Caribou Spirit Mask

With bold lines and painted motifs, this caribou head draws from Indigenous-style carvings — part sculpture, part totem. While I haven’t attempted anything this ornate yet, it’s a design I’d love to reinterpret one day using burning tools and natural pigments.

🫎 Moose With Character

This moose strikes a playful pose, somewhere between majestic and cartoonish. The texture work in the AI version caught my attention — especially the carved tufts of hair and oversized antlers. This concept could work well in walnut or butternut, both woods that lend themselves to expressive detail.

(Actual squirrel may vary.)

🐿️ The Squirrel I’m Working On

Here’s where the digital meets the physical: this squirrel design became the spark for a real carving project I’ve started in the shop — though with a different pose and a bit more movement. Mine has the same alert posture but is climbing forward, with its paws gripping a small stump. It’s still in the roughing stage, but already starting to take on some charm.

🧠 Thoughts on AI in Craft

Some folks ask: why use AI to generate carving concepts? For me, it’s about idea exploration. It doesn’t replace handwork — it supports it. These digital pieces help me test style, shape, and composition before committing to a chunk of hardwood. They speed up the brainstorming phase and give me room to play.

But once I step into the shop, it’s back to the tools, the grain, the sound of woodchips falling — where no algorithm can follow.

🪵 Salvaging Wood After the Storm: Ice Damage and Decortication with a Brick Hammer

Japanese saw and oak logs.

Date: April 2025Location: Near Barrie, Ontario

Earlier this month, a harsh ice storm swept through our region and left behind a lot of broken branches and damaged trees. While the damage was unfortunate, it also opened up an opportunity: the chance to collect some beautiful raw wood for carving and shaping.

🌨️ The Aftermath of the Storm

After surveying my area, I came across a few fallen limbs and branches that were too good to leave behind. Most of the wood I gathered came from trees that had cracked or splintered under the weight of the ice — perfect material for experimenting with freeform shapes, mallet handles, or rustic pieces. I loaded them up and brought them home to dry out and prepare.

🔨 The Decortication Process

Instead of using a drawknife or spokeshave — which I don’t currently own — I improvised with a tool that was on hand: a brick hammer.

Using the flat edge of the hammer, I began stripping the bark and cambium layer away from the logs. Surprisingly, it worked well for this purpose. The hammer was heavy enough to deliver controlled scraping force, but still gave me the precision I needed for the contours of the wood.

The decortication wasn’t perfect — some spots left residual cambium, and I’ll likely go over those later with sandpaper or a carving knife — but overall it gave the wood a rugged, unfinished look that I like. And it revealed a pale, buttery grain underneath that already shows great contrast in color and pattern.

🪚 What's Next?

Some of the pieces are drying out, while others are being roughed into shape for small projects. I’m thinking about turning one into a mallet, maybe using the curved piece for a stool leg or even a rustic coat hook. These salvaged logs remind me of why woodworking is special — it’s not always about starting with the perfect piece of lumber. Sometimes the process begins with a storm and a hammer.

Tools used:

• Brick hammer (for bark removal)

• Hand saw

• Japanese pull saw

• Patience

Lessons learned:

• You don’t need perfect tools to start processing raw material.

• Ice storms can be destructive, but also offer unexpected chances for craft.

• Bark removal is strangely satisfying work.

🔨 The Adze: A Timeless Tool in Woodworking History

In the world of hand tools, few are as ancient — or as enduring — as the adze. Used for thousands of years across continents and cultures, the adze bridges the worlds of woodworking, architecture, boat building, and even ritual. Though it may seem primitive compared to today’s power tools, its design has stood the test of time for one simple reason: it works.

🪓 What Is an Adze?

At first glance, an adze might resemble a hoe or a sideways axe. But it’s neither. The key difference is the blade orientation: while an axe blade runs in line with the handle, an adze blade is mounted perpendicular to it. This makes it ideal for chopping across wood grain, scooping, or shaping curved or flat surfaces.

There are several types of adzes:

• Carving adze – small and curved, used for hollowing out bowls or sculptures

• Shipwright’s adze – heavier and straighter, used in boatbuilding

• Foot adze – swung between the feet for planing or flattening beams

🌍 A Global Tool With Deep Roots

The adze has been independently developed by cultures all over the world. Here’s a brief look at its cultural range:

🔺 Ancient Egypt

Adzes were one of the earliest woodworking tools found in tombs and depicted in wall paintings. Craftsmen used copper or bronze blades with wooden handles to shape beams and build temples and boats.

🏔️ Indigenous North America

Native American cultures used adzes with stone blades lashed to hardwood handles to carve canoes, totem poles, and masks — especially in the Pacific Northwest. The adze was considered both a tool and an object of ceremonial value.

🌴 Polynesia and Oceania

In Polynesian cultures, adzes made from basalt or shell were essential for carving dugout canoes, which were crucial for inter-island travel and migration.

🏯 East Asia

In China and Japan, the adze appeared in early carpentry and temple construction, helping form intricate wooden joints still admired today for their strength and elegance — often without nails or screws.

🧱 From Stone to Steel

Originally, adzes were made with knapped stone blades — often flint, obsidian, or basalt — bound to wood with sinew or fiber. Over time, these evolved into bronze, iron, and finally steel versions, shaped by blacksmiths and hardened for durability.

Despite these changes, the essential design has remained remarkably consistent. Even today, bushcrafters, green woodworkers, and heritage carpenters use adzes for everything from log shaping to spoon carving.

⚒️ Why Use an Adze Today?

For modern woodworkers and DIY makers, the adze offers a connection to intuitive craftsmanship — the kind that relies on feel, rhythm, and form rather than power and automation. It teaches control and sensitivity to the grain. It rewards patience and practice.

In a world of cordless drills and CNC routers, the adze reminds us that simple tools, used well, can still do beautiful things.

🧠 Final Thoughts

Using an adze today is like shaking hands with history. It links you to the laborers of ancient Egypt, the canoe builders of the Pacific, and the temple architects of Japan. It’s not just a tool — it’s a teacher.

Thinking of trying one out? Start with a small carving adze and a softwood blank. Let the blade speak. You might find yourself carving more than just wood — you’ll carve a path back through time.