Creating Beauty With A Chainsaw Is A Way Of Life For Joe Wavra Of Klondike Carvings In Red Lake Falls

Once chainsaw control becomes second nature, you can start challenging your sculptor mind with more complex subjects. Being “self-taught” has provided some really insightful learning through trial and error. I’ve worked through the kinks, found my groove, and techniques that works for me. But the learning doesn’t end – chainsaw carving is an ongoing journey of experimentation, creative problem-solving, and personal development as an artist. Included in this book are some early and contemporary chainsaw artists from many of the different carving styles.

A happy medium, in my opinion, is a 3-4 ft piece of wood for a starting size. I’d encourage anyone intrigued by the artform to at least give it a try. Here are a few tips that I learned from bumbling my way through beginning https://alaskawoodcarvings.com/2021/04/07/biltmore-project/. Just getting the feel for the saw, angles, pressure, and control took about 3 full carvings of “not great” results before improvements started happening.

  • Different Chainsaw Sculptures and images to generate ideas for my chainsaw sculptures.
  • Just to get the feel of the saw, the angles, the pressure and the control it took about 3 full incisions of “not great” results before the improvements began.
  • Smooth the surface with sandpaper while you are detailing the carving.
  • I write stories about rural and exurban areas, the places where development meets farmland and farms meet the great outdoors.
  • Without a doubt, chainsaw carving is a full body workout that takes me to the limits of what I can do.

Early statues of their gods and goddesses were carved in wood. However, woodcarving did not receive its real development until over 2,000 years ago, when tools and methods for carving became more refined. Next step is to select the appropriate chainsaw for carving. As you’re trying the carving job for the first time, you can start with the affordable one which you can use later for other woodworking projects if you don’t feel comfortable with carving. So for learning chainsaw carving, first I searched for resources regarding learning chainsaw carving.

Carver Meals Provided By:

I wrote this guide for anyone who wants to take up https://alaskawoodcarvings.com/ as an art. With progress and modernity, new tools have emerged that have the potential to revolutionise the field. The chainsaw is one of the sharpest tools in the world today, and many artists have utilised the chainsaw to create beautiful wood sculptures.

chainsaw carving

Wood carving is my passion so I’ve chosen this as my profession. I have been carving wood from my childhood with various tools but a chainsaw is my most favorite. Here, I’ll try to discuss the steps with tips and tricks that can help you to learn chainsaw carving.

Wavra’s shop and gallery is on the south edge of Red Lake Falls, a community of some 1,425 people about 45 miles east of Grand Forks. And he’s perfected the art of bringing that potential to life, so to speak, with a chainsaw. RED LAKE FALLS, Minn. – Where many people might just see a log – sometimes a very big log – Joe Wavra sees potential. A brief theoretical introduction deals with the anatomy of the animals. With this basic understanding, then the chain saw is used. I write stories about rural and exurban areas, the places where development meets farmland and farms meet the great outdoors.

The Beginning Of The Art Form

In the process, the Red Lake Falls chainsaw artist has carved out a career with his business, Klondike Carvings Custom Artwork and Gifts. Bears, wind spirits, eagles, trappers, wolves, farmers, tiki statues, Vikings, cardinals – you name it – and Joe Wavra probably has carved it. Pennsylvania was heavily logged during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Cascade Chainsaw Sculptors Guild is a nonprofit organization that was founded by a group of chainsaw artists in 1986.

It is somewhat of a secret in the chainsaw carving industry of just how much money full time chainsaw carvers make. There are many chainsaw carvers earning more than one hundred thousand dollars a year. Dozens, if not hundreds, of carvers make more than fifty thousand. Even beginner and mediocre carvers are making substantial money in this art form. The demand for chainsaw carvers is very high and the supply is very low. If someone wants to earn a living as an artist, they almost can’t do any better than chainsaw carving.

If you also want to learn eagle wood carving for yourself, you can go through this article. It’ll become as important as the different types of wood, tools & methods. His practice with wood carving spans most of Higgins’ life. He grew up in Northport, Washington, near the old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest. Beginning at age 11, he served a seven-year apprenticeship with a master carver.

Make Wood Work?

Draw / spray paint the grid marks on the intended piece of wood, then the general outline from the front, referring to the scale drawing. Without a doubt, chainsaw carving is a full body workout that takes me to the limits of what I can do. When working with larger, heavier pieces, they are unlikely to move with the pressure of the saw, so anchoring may not be necessary during the carving process.