Chainsaw carving, I learned, is an art form that was adopted in the Pacific Northwest in the mid 1950's. The Cascade Chainsaw Sculptor's Guild, formed in 1986, initiated a West Coast Carving Contest Circuit. Reedsport, just a few miles north of Winchester Bay, is the home venue for the Oregon Divisional competition. This weekend marked the 16th competition and we went to see what this very different art form is all about.
It was most fascinating.
There are two main events. The Quick Carves are daily contests in which the artists have 90 minutes to complete a sculpture. The Master carving spans four days during which the artists complete their main sculpture.
We arrived just as that day's Quick Carve commenced. The program listed 26 professional artists, 10 semi-professional artists, and 4 international artists from Canada, Italy, and Japan. At the appointed time, everyone fired up their chainsaws and tackled their respective logs. Amidst clouds of sawdust, the buzzing saws carved into the wood. We walked around, observing the men and women busily sawing away, wondering what shape would eventually emerge from each log.
This was certainly a novel but also very noisy endeavor. The din never let up, and with so many saws running, the crescendos came in waves. The artists wore ear protection. Had I known, I could have brought ear plugs for us.
Eventually we began to see a shape forming - a head, ears, face. We wandered from stall to stall, and with each round, a little more detail was carefully carved away.
The artists proceeded to smooth, etch, notch or burnish the last remaining details as their vision became a realistic and recognizable form - a bear, a horse head (my favorite), a bird.
Afterwards, the sculptures were auctioned off in the big tent.
It was really quite amazing to observe the process from start to finish, the transformation from raw block of wood into a striking sculpture. I thought of Michelangelo, and how he chipped away at a block of hard marble for months, and wondered what he would think about this method of creating a sculpture in 90 minutes, while wielding a heavy, noisy, and dangerous chain saw.
The end result may not adorn a church interior or even a gallery, but it is a sculpture in its own right, one that will be perfect in a garden setting or in a town square, for everyone to enjoy and admire outdoors.
And if you live in an area where trees and wood are plentiful, what better medium to mold a striking sculpture out of material indigenous to your geographical area.
Here are the final sculptures of the day that were auctioned off later:
These are a few of the other completed sculptures for sale -
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| mountain goats |
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| goldfish created by one of the Japanese chainsaw artists |
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| perhaps this one must surely be Smok who lives at the base of the castle in Krakow |
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| this one is for my elephant-loving daughters |
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| I detest these reptiles but can't help admiring the intricate detail carved by this artist |
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| the detail on this octopus is remarkable |
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| the bear is a creation of Flavio Favaro from Italy (this one is for you Grazia!) |
