Transformations on the Shore Chainsaw Carving Competition

This event started with the carving of 'Octy' from an old piece of driftwood on the beach and has
evolved into a competition where professional carvers gather in Campbell River to create
sculptures and enhance the art of chainsaw carving. The sculptures are made from Western Red
Cedar, found in the Campbell River area. Carvers us a combination of chainsaws and hand-tools
on their sculptures. Unfortunately we were unable to attend the final day of the competition,
when the finished sculptures are displayed. The sculptures in this gallery are mainly works
in progress, yet finished or not, it is fascinating to watch them emerge from a raw log into an
amazing piece art.

Chainsaw carving is a fast growing art form found throughout the world, that combines the
modern technology of the chainsaw with the ancient art of woodworking. The oldest chainsaw
artist records go back to the 1950's, in the 1980's the art form really began to grow when
artists began displaying their work at the World Lumberjack Championships held in Hayward,
Wisconsin. The first chainsaw caving World Championship was held in 1987. There are currently
several hundred, if not thousand, carvers in the USA. Enthusiats have taken up the art form in
the UK, Germany and other European countries, as well as in Japan, Australia and Africa.

Although the general impression of the public is that chainsaw carving is largely "performance
art" (because of the noise, sawdust, and very fast carving results), there are a few "chainsaw
carvers" now producing stunning works of art. These works can be produced in a fraction of the
time that would normally be expected if only conventional tools such as mallet and gouges were
used. Although many carvers continue to use other tools alongside the chainsaw as an art
creating tool, the term can be broadly defined in layman's terms as being "chainsaw carving",
as this is the primary tool of use. ~ Wikipedia
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