For birch, one panel was constructed from clear wood, three panels from varying levels of knots, and three panels from varying levels of natural stain (Table 1).

Birch’s vision for the sculpture was a unique one – keep the tree’s structure, applying a dark stain to the trunk, and use wood from the branches to create characters.

A stain won’t have much effect on very dark wood species like ebony, but the same stain can have a dramatic effect on a blond one like pine or birch.