![\"moorlands-allen-stichler\"](\"http:\/\/stichler.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/WP_20150629_004.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nI’d been sent a list of species found at Moorlands by the volunteers, and after discussions a woodpecker seemed a popular choice. I knew that I wanted to surround the wildlife with leaves, but beyond that I thought that I would wait to see what was suggested design-wise by the contours of the stump.<\/p>\n
It’s quite a tall stump, and all of the work was to be around the top due to the chances of any lower carvings being blocked by plant growth ~ so it made sense not to get too bogged down with detail, as it wouldn’t be seen from ground level.<\/p>\n Once the woodpecker was set in satisfactorily, I had to decide overnight what would go to the right of it. I took a photo of the area to be carved and pondered later that evening.<\/p>\n The way the trunk protruded vertically on the left and the large lump towards the top suggested something climbing up the tree, so the obvious answer was a squirrel. I decided to utilize the lump by making that the squirrel’s head, with his tail hanging down where the trunk bent forward even more.<\/p>\n After the squirrel, the same question arose with the area around the other side; with quite a narrow vertical strip I considered some wild flowers from the species list, but I wondered about the longevity of thin, fragile carved stalks. It had me flummoxed for a while, but then seeking inspiration from the pond (which had kept me amused with the antics of a mother duck and ducklings and a moor-hen and her rapidly-diminishing number of chicks) I plumped for a common newt. This seemed to work well on a few levels as there was a nice balance between the three species, with air, land and water being represented.<\/p>\n I’d ignored any scale issues, just trying to fill the available space the best way I could, but I felt I ought to separate the creatures somehow to make it clear that I do understand that a newt is not the same size as a squirrel. I did this simply by chipping in a recess behind the woodpecker and exaggerating the natural dip or crease to the right of the squirrel. These created a sort of frame effect, so that each element was contained in it’s own area.<\/p>\n Following on from the newt I got to work on the oak and ivy leaves; no real planning again here ~ just a case of looking at the trunk and making the most of any lumps and bumps, or filling any large spaces.<\/p>\n Just as I was about to pack away, I thought it would be nice to have something that could be spotted by small children, and looked for a spot to hide an acorn.<\/p>\n<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0 <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> \u00a0 <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 A nice spot for lunch!<\/p>\n<\/a> \u00a0 <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/a><\/p>\n