NATURE is indisputably the greatest artist and driftwood pieces are its most original sculptures. Chiselled by time and tide of swift mountain rivers, these marvelous pieces of art present the nature's creative skill at its best.

The gushing streams and the rivers of the Himalayas offer an unlimited stock of naturally shaped wooden pieces for a Driftwood Artist, mostly during floodsin forests, the roots and branches of different shapes fall in the turbulent flow of rivers and streams.They carry these pieces a long way and afterwards deposit along the leveled banks.

These nature worked pieces are now collected by a person who is attracted by these strange forms of wood. He files and polishes these pieces and gives them some recognizable or abstract shapes through his imagination.

Driftwood represents "natural" wood spirits and is not worked, except for cutting the lengths to remove excess wood. They are just as made by nature, and found in nature. The lucky legends of the wood spirits have been known for thousands of years and they are mystical relics "recycled" through nature.

The elements of nature create the twists and turns that give the driftwood its nautical character. Driftwood takes years to take form It is wonderful to observe how the destructive forces of nature play artistic games by making fantastic shapes of birds, animals, pre-historic monsters, saints, fighters, lovers and what not. The sculptor blends innovation and imagination and after making slight alterations gives it different shapes.

The alpine forests of Himachal Pradesh are a treasure house of driftwood and jungle wood pieces. The exposed roots of fallen trees, the termite-eaten hollow trunks and the wood brought down by the fast-flowing rivers and nullahs provide ample raw material for the artist.

Artistic Driftwood items made by local craftsmen in Himachal Pradesh. The driftwood art has grown commercially in the Himachal due to high inflow of tourists.