Monday, September 28, 2009

Chainsaw Art

Up here in the northwoods, we just may find beauty in what can be formed from a White Pine Log. I call it Art, no I do not like all of it, some of it is stiff and formal, well as formal as chainsaw art can be.

Saturday we went to a Chainsaw Sculpting Invitational that was put on by a group called Loghoggers, over at Hackensack, Minnesota. It was a beautiful day, a little windy, but warm.

The whine of chainsaws filled the fall air, the smell of pine was pungent ..very Christmasy. It began to give me a headache, much like Christmas does. I kept getting chain saw dust on my lens..and the sun was in the wrong spot, but some of the photographs turned out acceptable.

The carvers are behind a black netting, it shows up in some of the photographs. They have lots of different sizes of chainsaws. When the pieces are complete, they are painted, or wood burned and taken to a display tent. On Sunday these finished pieces were auctioned off to the highest bidder. There were a few pieces that we really enjoyed, but not enough to go back and bid on them.

Far Guy's favorite.

My favorite, I don't even like raccoons, but this little guy really had a forlorn look on his face.

I managed one photo in the tent without a bunch of people in the way. It was a fun afternoon, we opted for a snack of homemade french fries and a chocolate shake from one of the many food vendors there. There was a craft show of sorts, mainly wood stuff, we walked around and enjoyed looking at the wares. We didn't buy anything. I already have to much stuff, if I can't eat it or read it ..I probably don't need it:)

11 comments:

West Side of Straight said...

That was a fun day out. Were there any carved pigs?

Anonymous said...

What a great way to spend a pretty afternoon. I cannot imagine being creative with a chainsaw but these pieces are amazing. It reminds me of two different yards around here...someone cut down a tree and left enough to make a wood sculpture out of! I like the sound of french fries and chocolate shakes too. You sound like me about stuff. I've spent the last year taking stuff out of here and all I want now is food or literature. By the way, your header photo mosaic is so pretty.

The Retired One said...

I like them all. We had two large pine trees cut on the property where we own a second house and had a chainsaw artist come and do a bear on one and an eagle on the other...they turned out fantastic.

DJan said...

Connie, these are all really creative. What a good way to use up small bits of logs rather than burning them into ashes. And I also love your banner. So fall and so beautiful.

Gail said...

Awesome!

Leah said...

I heard about this from a gal at work - they went last year and enjoyed it (must be quite a big deal -sounded like it was 4 days.)

LadyFi said...

Wow - those are some good sculptures. And with a chainsaw! You Minnesoteans are wild! ;-)

flydragon said...

These chain saw artists are amazing to me, where an accidental slip of a blade can turn a mighty grizzly bear into a cute little squirrel after all that work, and still come up with a piece of art:)

lisa said...

Those chainsaw guys sure can do some fabulous work!

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

Being an artist myself, I am amazed at the work done by an man, a hunk of wood and a chainsaw. Looks like you had an enjoyable weedend.

Enjoy this beautiful day!!!

Sunny said...

It's amazing what some people can do with a chainsaw. I think the racoon was very cute...now if there were a sheep, I could be tempted!
Sunny :)