Yes, we have a number of very big, old cottonwood trees in our park and at the lake. The bark gets thicker as the tree gets older so old trees are best for getting good pieces of bark. It does not require real thick pieces, this carving was done in bark that is only 1" thick. It is more limiting than thicker bits but still works. The piece in the original posting was done in bark just over 2" thick.

I have heard that the best cottonwood bark is harvested up in the great lakes region. The theory being that the colder winters create a more dense/harder/thicker bark. This is where the lighthouse bark was from, I bought it at a woodcarving workshop. The thinner bit was some I collected locally but I have found some locally that went over 3" thick. That takes some hunting though. I don't really detect much difference in the texture between local and northern grown bark but that could be a memory issue as I don't usually work one right after that other.

Sorry that got long winded, I get a bit wound up when I talk about carving stuff.

@DotLewis no long winded posts here. thanks for the explanation.We have tons of Cottonwoods here in the southwest and I had never noticed them further east

Bark carving is fun. Depending on the thickness of the bark you use, you can get pretty elaborate. I tend to keep a lot of the bark look on mine but some carvers leave very little. Check this page of pics of bark carving: [bing.com]

Note, some of the pictures are NOT bark carvings. Cottonwood bark will have that red color to it when you cut down in so the pieces that are different color are pieces of wood with bark left on them, a popular thing for some face carvers in particular.

Read the adjacent post for my reply which explains some about bark availability. I've added pictures of the lighthouse carving from the back. You can see it is hollowed out and cut through for the windows. You can also see how smooth the grain/texture is. That is one of the nice features of carving it, the grain inside the bark is minimal, it doesn't fight with you or go from hard to soft. It is softer than Basswood but not soft like Balsa. You would probably find working with it pleasant and relaxing.

The carvings are quite stable, they do not show signs of deteriorating any more than those of wood. The exception would be if you keep more of the outer bark exposed it does sometimes have layers that can break off. You will understand this the first time you carve it. As you take the first cuts you will find spots that will chip away if you are not careful. Stop cuts will control much of this and after you work with it a bit you will recognize the precarious parts. I have slipped a drop of glue behind a layer on a roof overhang or window sill on occasion because I knew it wouldn't hold up if I didn't. You can always carve below these if you prefer and as you can see, many people do remove much of the more layered surface before getting into their carving.

Hope you decide to try this medium, it is an interesting change from wood, although I will always go back to Basswood for my more detailed work or Walnut for flash.

@DotLewis Thanks for the detailed reply! I'll given this a try when I find some appropriate bark