Mr. Gill, who is based in New Hartford, Conn., starts with pieces of dead or damaged wood salvaged from his area. He cuts through the wood until he finds an engaging section—perhaps where the tree divides or branches intersect.

Then he sands the block as smooth as possible (so that the paper won't crease when placed on the wood) and burns and brushes the block (to reduce the areas of soft wood between the growth rings, making them more distinct)...

CEDAR BURL Bryan Nash Gill/Princeton Architectural Press