Chainsaw carving

A man carving a Bernese bear with a chainsaw in Brienz, Switzerland.

The art of chainsaw carving is a fast growing form of art that combines the modern technology of the chainsaw with the ancient art of woodcarving.

The beginning of the art form

The oldest chainsaw artist records go back to the 1950s, which include artists Ray Murphy and Ken Kaiser. In 1952 Ray Murphy used his father's chainsaw to carve his name into a piece of wood. In 1961 Ken Kaiser created 50 carvings for the Trees of Mystery.

Many new artists began to experiment with chainsaw carving, including Brenda Hubbard, Judy McVay, Don Colp, Cherie Currie (former Runaways lead singer), Susan Miller, Mike McVay, and Lois Hollingsworth. At this time chainsaw carvers started loading up their carvings in the back of their trucks, functioning as traveling galleries.

In the 1980s the art form really began to grow with Art Moe getting much exposure for the craft at the Lumberjack World Championships held in Hayward, Wisconsin. This event was broadcast nationally. The addition of carving contests from the west coast to the east coast brought carvers together to test their skills and learned from each other. The first Chainsaw Carving World Championships was held in 1987 and won by then 24 year old Barre Pinske. The 1980s also saw the development of the Cascade Chainsaw Sculptors Guild and their newsletter, The Cutting Edge, mailed out to many members throughout the Pacific Northwest and the rest of the United States, as well as the first book on chainsaw carving, Fun and Profitable Chainsaw Carving by William Westenhaver and Ron Hovde was published in 1982.

In the 1990s another chainsaw carving book was published by Hal Macintosh. The growth of the Internet helped the craft take off in the USA. By 2007 there were several hundred, if not thousand, carvers in the USA.

The UK has followed. This has also been mirrored in Germany and other European countries, Japan, Australia and Africa. It has now become a worldwide phenomenon, mainly due to the Internet.

Although the general impression of the public is that it is largely "performance art" (because of the noise, sawdust, and very fast carving results), there are a few "chainsaw carvers" now producing stunning works of art. These works can be produced in a fraction of the time that would normally be expected if only conventional tools such as mallet and gouges were used. Although many carvers continue to use other tools alongside the chainsaw as an art creating tool, the chainsaw remains the primary tool.

Today

Carvers use chainsaws as a valuable tool in their wood sculpture. Performance chainsaw artists do "quick carves", which can draw a large audience, focusing their attention on the tool and speed.

The first booking agency dedicated to promoting and preserving the integrity of performance chainsaw art was founded in 1992, by Brian Ruth. It was appropriately named, Masters of the Chainsaw. The company represents some of the most respected artists in the USA industry,such as Brian Ruth, Ben Risney, Mark Tyoe, Marty Long, and hand selected top artists from other countries. In 2007, Masters of the Chainsaw, under the direction of Jen Ruth, released the first international group of female sculptors under the name Chainsaw Chix. Featured on this all female team are greats, like Stephanie Huber, Angela Polglaze,Lisa Foster, Alicia Charlton, Uschi Elias, and Sara Winter. In September 2009, Brian and his wife, Jen, released "The Homeowners Complete Guide to the Chainsaw".

Santa Claus carved into a tree in Orangeville, Ontario

Many wooden statues produced by the Canadian chainsaw artist Pete Ryan decorate the small town of Hope, British Columbia.

Glenn Greensides, another Canadian artist, branched out into Japan in 1995. This intriguing project required Glenn to visit Japan for 12 consecutive years. Each year he created one 5 meter tall sculpture from an exported British Columbia log depicting the upcoming year's Japanese zodiac symbol.

Brian Ruth, self-taught chainsaw artist of 28 years, introduced the art as a Performance Art to Japan in 1995. Since then, he has established a division of Masters of the Chainsaw and a chainsaw carving school in Tōei Japan. Toei Chainsaw Art club has the reputation of having the first and longest produced chainsaw-only competition in Japan, and this year is hosting its tenth year to national and international guests.

Special chainsaw blades and chains have been developed for carving. In Finland such equipment is affectionally called konepuukko ("mechanical puukko").

Carving of owls, Brighton Recreation Area, Michigan

The chainsaw "blades" are technically known as "guide bars". For chainsaw carving these bars have very small noses (typically around 25 mm diameter). This enables the artist to create detail in the carving that would be impossible with a standard guide bar. The chains that are used on these guide bars are normally modified by reducing the length of the teeth in order that they are able to cut efficiently at the tip of the bar. The reason for this modification is that all chains manufactured currently (circa 2007) are made to be used on standard guide bars only. These "carving bars" are manufactured by "Cannon", "GB", and by a companies in Japan supplying "Stihl" and others. The other very important advantage with these guide bars is that they do not "kickback" when using the tip. they are therefore very safe to use in comparison with standard guide bars.

In order to reach the high levels of skill required to be a "chainsaw carver", a considerable amount of instruction and practice is required in the SAFE operation of a chainsaw. This is then followed by plenty of study and practice in carving basic shapes which then ultimately leads on to more ambitious projects. It is extremely important that anyone using a chainsaw to wear the proper protective clothing. A cut from a chainsaw is not just a cut, it actually removes a whole centimeter or more of flesh and bone. A victim can die very quickly from blood loss.

Chainsaw carvers' guilds

Two guilds have formed for chainsaw artist. The Cascade Chainsaw Sculptors Guild (CCSG) is a nonprofit organization that was founded by a group of chainsaw artist back in 1986. In 1993, the CCSG started putting out a bimonthly newsletter, "The Cutting Edge". Another non profit guild, United Chainsaw Carvers Guild, was established in 2002 and published a quarterly newsletter titled "The Chainsaw Letter". Both guilds claim to promote chainsaw art and the sharing of ideas amongst fellow artisans.

See also

• Ice sculpture

References

• Groeschen, Jessie (2005). Art of Chainsaw Carving. East Petersburg, Pennsylvania: Fox Chapel Publishing. ISBN 1-56523-250-X.
• Tommy Craggs Tree Sculpting UK
• UK Chainsaw Carving
• Chainsaw woodcarvings: District of Hope, British Columbia - Canada
• WA Secretary of State
• PA Secretary of State
• UK Chainsaw Sculpture