This week, I returned from Canada, where I participated in Chainsaw Wizards for the first time. What a fantastic experience! It was my first time at the event, which began in 2022, and it didn’t disappoint. Keep reading to find out more about the event and the Dragon Rider sculpture I created…
ABOUT CHAINSAW WIZARDS
Before I talk about the Dragon Rider sculpture I made, I wanted to share a bit about the event…
Chainsaw Wizards takes place in the Drumheller Valley, Alberta, known for its badlands and dinosaur fossils! In 2022, the town had to start felling trees to create flood berms. Although necessary, this was a disappointment to some of the community. They wanted to do something to honour the life of those trees and turn a negative situation into something positive. Inspired by the Hope carvings in British Columbia, they started the Chainsaw Wizards Tree Carving Festival.
Not content with their past successes, this year, the incredible Marina Cole collaborated with the Chainsaw Wizards Committee to make it an international event…
BECOMING A CHAINSAW WIZARD!
So, how did I come to take part in the event? Well, basically, Marina had the goal of gathering the best 10 carvers in the world to participate, and she posted on Facebook who people thought those carvers would be. They couldn’t make it, so I went instead! Joke!! People did mention me, which is really humbling. And so I received an invite.
It’s always lovely to be invited to an overseas event, and it’s been a long time since I last visited Canada. And so, I enthusiastically joined the lineup along with nine other chainsaw carvers.
Sadly, a few of the original lineup pulled out due to illness or family. Catching up with other carvers on the circuit is one of the fun parts of events, so it was a shame not to see my friends Hikaru Kodama, Igor Luskotow, and Ryan Anderson. A wild card was added, though, so there were eight of us – a truly lovely group to be around. I hadn’t met four of the carvers in person before. Getting to know them better, as well as reconnecting with old friends, was fantastic.
THE SCULPTURES…
So now you know the background and how I came to take part in this year’s Chainsaw Wizards, let’s get onto the sculptures…
The event ran from Friday to Monday, and we started each day with a speed carve. We all created ‘stoppers’ on the first day to line the trail into town. On the other days, pieces went to auction that day and event attendees could bid. A nice coincidence was that one of my pieces was won by friends of mine!
My contribution to the trail was the rattlesnake above. What do you think?
After the speed carving, I was free to work on my main piece: my Dragon Rider sculpture.
I need to give a shout-out to Drumheller Equipment here. When I arrived in Alberta, they set me up with all the Stihl equipment we’re used to using. It was great to have quality tools that felt familiar for the event.
CRAFTING THE DRAGON RIDER SCULPTURE
Some chainsaw carving events have a specific theme, such as Huskycup. Others may even have a big final piece in mind, and every carver creates a piece, for example, the Zodiac clock at Holz Flori in 2019. That wasn’t the case at Chainsaw Wizards, and we could create anything we wanted.
With free rein to create whatever we wanted, I went there with one idea, but completely changed my mind when I saw the wood! It’s no secret I love fantasy themes, so I settled on a Welsh dragon. I wanted to give it a rider, and I couldn’t get the image of a Greek or Trojan era warrior out of my head…
A WARRIOR FOR MY DRAGON…
I decided the rider should be a woman, and she is how I would probably depict the Greek goddess Artemis if I carved her.
For the facial features and expression, I was inspired by the illustrations of Alphonse Mucha. The sculptures of the Roman era also influenced the final look. The raised spear gave a defiant feel and a sense of impending battle.
And then the project got even bigger! As I listened to the LOTR soundtrack whilst carving, I felt inspired to write a short story, an introductory chapter to a longer story never to be written…
And that’s the story behind this year’s Chainsaw Wizards and my Dragon Rider sculpture! Fun fact! Someone said it had the feel of a Frank Fazetta painting. I agree…but mine has more clothing!
The sculpture was brilliantly received on my social media channels (thank you to everyone for the kind comments), but what do you think? Do you see a different story in the sculpture? Drop a comment and let me know!
And as always, if you want a sculpture (dragon or otherwise!), please get in touch at www.treecarving.co.uk/contact.
