Arborscrulpture

Arborsculpture, is a tree shaping craft of training the living, growing wood of cultivated woody plants into ornamental shapes, useful implements, and structures.

Designers choose from among various compliant wood-forming plant species and an evolving array of design options, techniques, and tools to guide and shape living wood tissue as it grows, both above and below ground perhaps bending, pleaching, weaving, twisting, braiding, grafting, framing, molding, controlling light, or pruning to achieve an intended design.

The craft has been practiced for at least several hundred years, as demonstrated by ling root bridges built by the War-Khasi people of India.

Designs may include abstract, symbolic, or functional elements. Some shape crafted and grown are purely artistic, while other designs might yield may of a wide variety of useful implements, such as clothe hanger, laundry bin, ladders, furniture, tools and tool handles.. Large architectural designs such as live archways, domes, gazebos, tunnels, rooms, and entire homes are possible with careful planning, planting, and culturing over time.

The time needed to grow and construct a project depends on many variables, including the size of targeted trees, the growth rate of species, the intended design height, the local climate conditions, and the specific techniques used. A chair design may take 8 – 10 years to reach maturity.