I'm an amateur woodcarver. I carve by hand, using 'chip carving' knives along with chisels and gouges. I have a lot of fun with the process when I make the time to actually do it. I was self-taught for about the first year that I carved, and then I took a short, once-weekly course of instruction from a local woodcarver, who was teaching the class in a strip mall. He had the same last name as I do, by coincidence, and turned out to be a very kindly and patient man.
One thing that the class helped clarify for me, was that I wanted to establish my own 'style' or characteristic appearance in my carvings. While all carvings bear some resemblance, I think I've managed to do that.
The carving process is interesting to me. I start with a generally square or rectangular block of wood and once I've used a saw to cut it into the rough shape for the carving I've pictured in my mind, I sketch the carving onto the wood, usually in pencil. I follow that by using a really sharp knife to slice carefully along those lines at different angles, to give myself a set of guidelines to cut against, and then I begin to remove all of the wood that I don't want. When all of that is done, I have a finished carving, except for the painting and final stain or overcoat. I leave that to my talented wife, as I am slightly colorblind, and am far from the best of painters.
I know a few other carvers, and have talked with many. It's time consuming work, and sometimes the wood doesn't respond well to the blade. Wood has grain, and it often wants to run in wild directions and threatens to split the carving open, instead of holding steady, and giving in to the carver's tools.
The skill of the Master carver's hands is something to behold, a pleasure to watch. There is no apparent risk in a chaotic twist of grain for the Master. He holds the wood, just right, in His hands. With apparently effortless use of the tool he chooses, He seems to see the inside of the wood, even before it is exposed to the outside world, surgically removing what is harmful to the carving, and even using the imprudent grain of His creation to give it character. He will use that character, to make an individual creation, that while even though slightly different than all of His other creations, still bears the marks of His workmanship. People can spot one of the Master's creations easily, by the love He puts into it.

Eph 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. NKJV