HAPPY NEW YEAR! And welcome to my first blog of 2025!
I like to end each year (or start the next one!) with a review of the sculptures I’ve made, and pick a favourite from each month. 2024 was a busy year in the workshop with some brilliant commissions so it hasn’t been an easy task. I think I’ve finally settled on a top pick for each month though, so keep reading for a review of my favourite chainsaw carving sculptures from 2024…
JANUARY 2024
January was chilly and busy! There were a few pieces I was working on in the studio, including a polar bear (he features later), Yorkshire Roses and the James Bond sculpture above. My favourite for the month though was this cat bench created for a regular client…
FEBRUARY 2024
In February there were a couple of contenders for my favourite chainsaw carving sculptures of 2024. One was the eagle in flight that featured in my blog on making the most of your timber. The winner though for my favourite sculpture for February 2024 was this Hydra. Which would you have chosen?
MARCH 2024
March was the month I finished my life-sized polar bear sculpture, so that HAS to be my top pick for this month. Yes, they really are that big! Terrifying!
APRIL 2024
One of the great things about my job is the people you meet. Sometimes we touch base with clients repeatedly over the years, and sometimes they become friends too. That was the background to my favourite April Sculpture.
Although the event wasn’t until May, in April I was able to make some miniature sculptures to be centrepieces at a Chester Business Club dinner. They were then auctioned off in aid of the zoo. Is it cheating that there are several centrepieces and I’ve not chosen one? Which is your favourite?
MAY 2024
In May I installed the plaque on my Face of Holt sculpture so it became an official part of the UK-wide Time to Connect trail. It’s a real privilege to be included in this initiative by Alistair Morrison. My favourite commission that month though was this Wyvern. It will always be fun to create dragons, wherever they are. But for this piece I also got to spend a few days in the glorious gardens of Powys Castle converting a fallen tree into a sculpture that will draw visitors to a less-visited part of the castle and inspire play. Find all about it in my Powys Castle Wyvern blog.
JUNE 2024
June was another busy month. As well as working on commissions, I continued raising support for the documentary film about my life and work. If you haven’t visited the page yet, do click on the link above! I was also working on a project that will be revealed later this year (as I was in several other months too!), and I held my first solo exhibition at a local gallery in Cefn Mawr. Around the same time I completed my pick for my favourite sculpture for this month – a bust of Thomas Telford on display in a local pub.
JULY 2024
Thank you for sticking with me this far! Ready for the second half of the year? My favourite of my chainsaw carving sculptures for July is one I realised I haven’t yet shared anywhere: a bee (pictured below) for a lovely British company. It was also the month Blackie the War Horse was unveiled and we launched the first phase of my map of public sculptures.
AUGUST 2024
So what was happening in August? Well, it was the month of the custard cream!!! In July my Custard Cream stool went viral on social media. I added a Bourbon and Jammy Dodger to the range and in August the internet was asking for more! It’s amazing when something you create captures the hearts and imaginations of the public, and I began working on other pieces. In August I launched this Custard Cream Jewellery Box alongside a custard cream tray. It’s fun, isn’t it?! And a great gift for the biscuit-lover in your life!
You can find the full biscuit home range at www.treecarving.co.uk/store.
SEPTEMBER 2024
As I look back and think about what I’ve done, I’m reminded that every month was a busy one! And Septemeber was no different. As an artist I don’t take that for granted, so thank you to everyone who trusted me with a commission or helped get my name out there.
In September we delivered a trail to a Herefordshire location we can share in Spring 2025 and we received photos of another trail that was installed in the summer. My pick for my favourite commission that month though has to be this koi sculpture for Chalfonts Captured. It’s an amazing place and it was actually my first time carving fish!
OCTOBER 2024
Well, not only is the following sculpture my top pick for October, but it might be one of my favourite chainsaw carving sculptures for all of 2024! I had the privilege of travelling to Switzerland for three weeks with my wife Liz where we got to enjoy the local scenery, chocolate and raclette… oh and I made this sculpture of three ladies looking out over a fantastic view…
NOVEMBER 2024
And here we are in November 2024! After snow forced us to change plans, I travelled to Vyrnwy to complete my second sculpture in the town, about an hour’s hike from my Giant Hand. My fox sculpture was installed in time for the opening of a local pub, and as this walk around the workshop showed, we had a lot of projects underway in the studio. The sculpture I chose as my favourite this month though is this maquette of a much larger commission I’ll complete this year. Not only does a maquette give the client an idea of what the finished piece will look like (and inform any changes/tweaks), it can also be displayed as a sculpture in its own right. And that’s exactly what St James’ Garlickhythe will be doing with this one!
DECEMBER 2024
Thank you for reading with me until December! The year ended well for me in the studio with this sculpture of Frodo from Lord of the Rings. Always fun to sculpt a bit of Tolkien!
What did you think to my favourite chainsaw carving sculptures for 2024? Would they have been your top picks each month?
If you’re keen on seeing my 2025 sculptures as I share them, do give me a follow on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, or YouTube. And thank you for all your support as I begin another year of sculpting!
You can commission a sculpture at www.treecarving.co.uk/contact
