Chainsaw Carving - Art Form

www.chainsawcarving.com

The chainsaw is most often thought of as an important tool for many heavy construction duties as well as for Tree surgeons (to remove branches and foliage), Fire fighters (to create fire breaks in an effort to control wild fires) and among other uses.

But in the 1950's there came a change in how chainsaws were actually being used since the first recorded artist who is Ray Murphy started using his father's chainsaw to carved out his brother's name on a piece of wood.

Chainsaw carving really only became a recognized art form in the 21st century, but documentation suggests that it was being practiced as far back as 1940's America. In 1961, Ken Kaiser created the Trail of Tall Tales, commissioned by the Trees of Mystery, a tourist attraction in Northern California.

He carved 50 monumental pieces, which focused on Paul Bunyan, in gigantic redwood logs and panels. He was the first person to bring chainsaw carving to light, but it wasn't until the 1980's that it really started to take off.

It is generally accepted that there are two sides to chainsaw carving - the finished sculpture itself and the process used to create it. The latter is known as more of a 'performance art', and many people will visit competitions to watch the artists use powerful chainsaws to create delicate sculptures at breakneck speeds.

Carving chainsaws have specially designed guide bars which have very small noses because the artist could hardly or cannot create detail in the carving with a regular chainsaw guide bar. The size of the teeth on the chains are also smaller so they are more efficient in cutting at the tip of the bar.

Creating a work of art with a chainsaw and piece of wood is a best way to show one's personality, and most of the chainsaw carvers starts with a large block of wood.

There are also some artists even go to their neighbors backyard and will create a work of art out of a tree trunks that are still in place such at pine, ash, alder, palm, elm and redwood. Art is simply a concept and can therefore be anything.

Anybody who has seen a beautiful and remarkable sculpture, only to find out that it had been created by a chainsaw, must relent and admit that it is not only art, but art of the highest degree.

www.chainsawcarving.com