Leah Royan - Woodcarver and artist from Wales
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ALDER
ALDER Alder is a hard wetland wood growing in very moist areas, especially by fresh water. It was used to make gunpowder charcoal at one time. It has a rich colour and will take lots of detail.
ASH
ASH Ash grows on limestone or valley soils and belongs to the olive family. Growing rapidly, it matures fast and becomes hollow-boled in about 200 years. It is a hard wood and takes detail beautifully. Being much underrated it is a joy to carve and the finish is always beautiful.
BEECH
BEECH Beech thrives on chalk hills and sandy soil. It is a thirsty tree and drives its roots through dry layers to reach moisture rather than thriving on wet soil. The wood is very hard, taking detail well, and is a beautiful golden colour. Living for around 250 years beech trees will die and fall apart suddenly. Spalted beech has stunning patterns.
IROKO
IROKO A tropical hard wood and therefore not something I use very often. The dragon is the only carving I have used it for so far and it was nice to work with, having a beautiful finish.
LABURNUM
LABURNUM Laburnum was imported into Britain centuries ago. It is a very hard wood, the heart of which is dark brown whereas the sap wood is light in colour (usually yellow), giving a lovely contrast. When laburnum grows to a substantial size it hollows out in the middle and is no good for carving, hence I can only carve smallish pieces from it.
LONDON PLANE
LONDON PLANE A member of the Maple family it is a semi-hard wood. Seen in almost every city it will grow to an immense size. It has a nice colour and distinctive grain.
OAK
OAK Oak is incredibly hard and gets harder the longer it is seasoned. It is best carved when fairly newly cut otherwise muscle damage may ensue! Taking a lot of work to finish smoothly it is a difficult wood to carve.
PINE
PINE Pine is a soft wood and doesn't take detail well. It is very blond in colour when newly cut and grows darker with age.
REDWOOD (SEQUOIA)
REDWOOD (SEQUOIA) Redwood is a very soft wood and doesn't take detail well. Its colouring always makes it look stunning and yellow streaks sometimes appear through the wood, giving a good effect when carved.
SAPIENT PEARWOOD
SAPIENT PEARWOOD A species of tree growing in intensely magic-polluted areas. This tree, or an item made from it, is totally impervious to magic and to knives, cutlasses, etc. making it extremely difficult to carve.
SYCAMORE
SYCAMORE Sycamore can thrive on exposed coastlines where others will die. It is a semi-hard wood, taking a lot of detail and is quite plain unless spalted. I use a lot of sycamore as it grows abundantly in Wales. It is used to make kitchen utensils as it is non-toxic. In times gone by it would be used to make Welsh Love Spoons to give to a lady being courted.


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SPALTED WOOD
GOAT Spalting is part of the rotting process of wood and is caused by fungal disease, decay, humidity and staining. Dark lines spread through the timber and the colour of the wood varies from segment to segment (see figure left). This can turn a plain wood into something decorative and quite stunning and makes for very interesting carving.