An annual highlight in the chainsaw carving calendar is The Huskycup. Every summer chainsaw carvers from around the world descend on Blockhausen in Dorfschemnitz and the sawdust starts flying! We absolutely recommend a visit at least once in a lifetime! As you might expect, this summer’s event has sadly been cancelled. But never fear! Just like our series where we brought Simon’s woodland trails to your home (click here for Part One, Part Two and Part Three), we thought we would bring the Huskycup to you! Join us as we look back as Simon’s entries in the Huskycup through the years…
About Blockhausen
Before we revisit Simon’s entries at the Huskycup through the years, we have to share a bit more about the place. It’s incredible!
Blockhausen had its beginnings in something very practical: a hut to store forest management material and hay. SO different to its current function! You can read the full story at https://www.blockhausen.de/geschichte-gebaeude/wie-alles-begann/ , but nowadays it’s a venue for chainsaw carving courses, forestry training, open air museum, events venue, holiday destination, and hiking trail. In fact, it’s home to the largest collection of chainsaw art in the world! Oh, and if that isn’t enough, it also has a pretty great snack bar/cafe! Public can visit all year round, and hire various buildings. Many of them incorporate some fantastic pieces of chainsaw carving, so it’s like staying in an art gallery!
At certain times of year though, it is transformed into an arena for some of the world’s best chainsaw carvers. The largest of these events being Huskycup…
The Huskycup Experience
Initially Huskycup was an annual competition. As we mentioned in our Huskycup flashback blog though, it is now an exhibition event/showcase, although there is still a speed carving competition. Artists team up to create incredible chainsaw carving exhibits that tie in with a given theme. Simon participated for the first time in 2007 and has returned several times since then. It’s definitely a favourite event! Although he was very successful in competition, Simon prefers the more relaxed atmosphere of the exhibition. Primarily, it enables artists to feel more relaxed as they carve. It also allows them to take more time to enjoy each other’s creations, and try things they may not if there was the ‘risk’ of it not working out when they were being judged. It means teams can be more varied too as they aren’t restricted to a geographical region. Whether a participant, chainsaw artist, or fan, Huskycup is a great event to attend for community, and inspiration.
Simon and the Huskycup through the Years: The Beginning…
Simon’s first Huskycup experience was in 2007. He had to apply to organiser Andreas by sending a design. There was no theme for this year. This is a bit of a double-edged sword! It’s great because it allows for SO much variation. However, it can also be tricky to know what’s going to appeal. Simon was up for the challenge though! He created a giant marionette that really moves! The sculpture placed fourth on the competition – pretty good for a first time competitor! It’s still installed at Blockhausen and remains a crowd-pleaser today.
Huskycup Through the Years: 2008
2008 Simon’s brief was to create a naked man and woman cuddling! It was another success and he placed fourth again. For those wanting to see the sculpture, you’ll need to visit Blockhausen! After the competition, it was installed in one of the haylofts where people can stay.
Huskycup Through the Years: 2009
In 2009 Simon paired up with Sebastian Seiffert to make TEAM EUROPE! This year teams created columns that depicted stories and legends from their home continent. Simon and Sebastian opted for a Celtic theme. Rather than tell specific stories though, they decided to show the seasons of the year as people. This unique approach impressed the judges, and they placed second! Their columns joined the other competitors, and they became the pillars supporting one of the log cabins.
Huskycup Through the Years: 2010
2010 brought Simon a live model, Knut! The theme was ‘Miners from the Ore region’, and each competitor had a model dressed in their various uniforms. Simon’s placed second again with his miner, meaning he had now placed four times out of five competitions.
The Long Table
Blockhausen’s founder Andreas is always up to something big though, and the 2010 Huskycup was no exception! Each of the miners created was to help support a canopy over the table at Blockhausen. Not just any table either. The table is actually in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest table in the world! For those wondering how big a table has to be to make a world record, it’s a whopping 39.8m! That’s the equivalent of 23 men of average height in Germany! It seats 200 people, weighs two tons, and it safely holds around 10,000 bottles of beer! That’s a lot of people, and a lot of beer. It’s also a LOT of fun as people gather and sit together to enjoy food and drink from the cafe. The process behind building the table is fascinating, and you can read more at https://www.blockhausen.de/geschichte-gebaeude/laengster-tisch-2010/. For now, enjoy the miners!
Huskycup Through the Years: 2012
Simon returned to the Huskycup in 2012 and teamed up with Tommy Craggs and Michael Tamozus to make TEAM EUROPE! They created an incredible piece depicting Christian and Martha from Sabine Obermaier’s book, The Midwife. Once again, the team did brilliantly and took third place.
Walk of Fame!
2012 was also the year that Simon entered the Blockhausen Walk of Fame! Just like the Hollywood version, it’s an honour to have your name on a star in the Blockhausen Walk of Fame. Unveiling is usually a big event!
Huskycup Through the Years: 2016
The 2016 Huskycup was a memorable one for Simon because he took first place. The theme was Vikings, which left plenty of room for creative storytelling – something Simon LOVES to do. He depicted a daughter being taken away by a Viking warrior, while the father grieves. A moving scene! And, just as Simon is often inspired by classical artists such as Rodin, this scene has hints of Michaelangelo’s “Creation of Adam” in the way the father reaches for his daughter as she is carried away. Winter or summer, it makes a striking exhibit in the Blockhausen open-air exhibition. We shared more about this in our blog about the 2016 and 2018 Huskycup, or you can check out the Viking Raid case study on the website to find out more.
Huskycup Through the Years:
By 2018 the Huskycup was no longer a competition. Rather, a showcase event. The theme was once again ‘Miners’. This time however, the finished pieces had a slightly different purpose. Rather than holding up a cabin or canopy, they were going to form that year’s Nativity scene. Simon’s task was to carve two miners that would eventually be two of the three wise men visiting the stable. You’ll see from the pictures that by now Simon had been introduced to Saburrtooth. Their burrs have enabled him to take his facial details to a whole new level! They now form a staple part of his tool collection along with his faithful Stihl chainsaws and Manpa multi cutter and angle grinder.
Once again he had live models, and they looked pretty happy with the finished sculptures of themselves!
Huskycup Through the Years: 2019
2019 was another amazing Huskycup for Simon, as you’ll know if you ready our Huskycup 2019 blog. He teamed up with Keiji Kikodoro, where they had the task of creating a sculpture with the theme ‘dragons’. Simon’s relationship with Keiji goes back years, and he has been privileged to carve with him in Japan. As regular followers know, Simon has MANY dragons in his portfolio, and is something of an expert dragon carver. His most recent dragon sculpture even breathes fire! He wanted something completely unique though for Huskycup 2019, and came up with this idea:
When we look at the finished piece, we see glimpses of the way dragons are traditionally portrayed in the cultures of both artists, and there is no doubt that their teamwork created something fantastic. Even without the competition, this is a winner!
Huskycup 2020
And what about Huskycup 2020?
Well, at this point it’s hard to say. Andreas has postponed the main event, and planned a ‘mini huskycup‘ for October of this year, but whether Simon can be there or not is very much up in the air. If it goes ahead, the theme is ‘Brothers Grimm’, and participants are free to choose either modern or traditional interpretation. What a lot of scope for amazing fantasy sculptures AND human form. Some of Simon’s favourite kind of projects!
Either way, we feel strongly that safety needs to come first, so we watch and wait, and will choose wisely at the time, within the regulations.
Even if it goes ahead, it will be with much reduced attendance. So, with little likelihood of you enjoying Husycup in person this year, we hope you enjoyed seeing Huskycup through the years from Simon’s perspective. If you can’t go the the event, we bring the event to you!
But seriously, if you can ever get there, we recommend attending a Huskycup. The atmosphere is amazing, the carving off the charts, and the venue stunning. Andreas has created an incredible destination, and a great event, and it’s definitely been a highlight to be part of the whole thing.
If you feel inspired by any of these sculptures to commission your own, contact Simon using the form on www.treecarving.co.uk/contact/. We’re looking forward to hearing from you!