Tree carving

[stave]

This was a white pine stump that was 8' tall and 24" across which the client wanted carved with animals from NC. The idea was to have an animal looking at you no matter which side of the stump you were standing on.
The vast majority of this was done with a variety of chainsaws followed by a 4 1/2" grinder and 8" grinder with 36 grit disks to refine shapes and then some hand work with gouges. More grinding followed to sand to a smoother finish, this time with 100 grit disks. I guess it took a little over a month to complete.
It was a really complex job that kept evolving due to evolution of the client's vision. But with some patience and some luck there was enough of me and the wood to get the job done. I am really pleased that it came out so well. All comments welcome of course, good and bad!

Mark
www.stromcarver.com

 

[bobby g]

Fantastic Stave!

bobby g

 

[jerrye]

A-maz-ing!

 

[LeftyTom]

Snap-diggity, that is good. The intertwined animals will keep viewers circling.

 

[Bill Clemmons]

Way beyond my ability to even imagine doing something like this. Amazing!

 

[PeteM]

Very cool but it looks like the fawn at the bottom is in a rather precarious position!
Nose to nose with a coyote/fox/wolf and about to get pooped on by the bear!!! :wwink:

It takes a lot of talent to go from chainsawing a tree to relief carving a rabbit!
Thanks for posting.
pete

 

[awldune]

Amazing! Each animal is very appealing in its own right.

Seems like doing this in situ would be an extra challenge since all of your work was on location and outdoors.

What kind of finish did you use for weatherproofing?

 

[MarkE]

Fantastic!

 

[scsmith42]

Mark, you have an incredible talent that I greatly envy! Thanks for sharing this with us.

Scott

 

[Sealeveler]

Mighty fine.
Tony

 

[richlife]

Absolutely fantastic, Mark! Truly inspiring for our feeble attempts to emulate you! Thanks tremendously for posting this. I'd like to share a long story that I think is relavant to this post.

Though at another order of magnitude, when I built my large (2500 sq ft) deck 18 years ago, I boxed in a small cedar (about 10 ft) along with some other shrubbery. While the boxing was plenty large, I failed to anticipate the effect of a full grown red cedar on the south side of my passive solar house. With some care, it eventually grew to over 40 feet tall with a span of about 10 feet -- effectively blocking the sun AND blocking the view from my grill deck as well as two other levels of deck above and below. A number of years back I employed several trim methods including extracting a belt from the middle to preserve the tree, but in the end the frustration of missing my view (100 foot drop down the slope to the creek bed and all those sunsets over the horizon 5 miles away) overcame my desire to have another pretty cedar near my house. My wife suggested I preserve it and carve a totem (see, I SAID this was relevant). Two winters ago, I cut it off at the grill deck level (about 12 feet), but let the lower branches continue to grow to try to get a little more girth out of this skinny cedar (cedars that grow in heavy forest get tall and relatively thin -- none of those 12" trunks for at least a few hundred years -- no time to wait). So I've trimmed it back for two years, but next winter will cut off all the branches and decide how tall to leave it (probably 6 - 8 feet). And I will carve a (skinny) totem. My two grandsons and son-in-law have already told me what they want to be (wolf, eagle and grizzly -- at least as of two months ago ). I'll ask everyone including wife, daughter, sister and in-laws again before I start.

Obviously, with only a 6" trunk to work with, the scope will be very different than yours, Mark, but I really loved seeing your tree sculpture.

Now, why a totem? I've always since a young boy admired totems. On a visit to Sausalito about 15 years back, I actually saw a NW Native American carving a totem and was incredibly impressed. I wanted to arrange to have him do one for me and ship it to me here, but over the time I was talking with him, I realized (sadly) that he wasn't exactly reliable and the potential thousands in investment would probably be lost. But I've never forgotten that and our more recent trips to the NW (as well as my own carvings) have spurred my interest. So when Sheila suggested I convert my tree to a "totem" -- well, it was a done deal.

And now you come along and throw fuel on the fire! :gar-La; Thank you! ccasion1

Rich

 

[pwlint]

"WOW" I'm amazed at your skill and vision to have the ability to see the finished product before you even start!!!!!

Paul

Have a nice day

 

[MagGeorge]

Magnificent carvings and impressive talent!


-www.sawblade.com

 

[stave]

Thanks for the comments, it does make me feel good to know that not only is my work appreciated but that the carving is a success.

The carving certainly was a challenge and I took pictures at the end of everyday so that I could go home and plan for the next day. Chainsaws are not very forgiving or subtle and you better be pretty sure you want a piece of wood gone when you put the saw to it...5 seconds and its gone. I bought a 346xp husky for this job and it cuts faster than any saw I have ever handled...it is scary!

The finish was a Mohawk oil stain followed by a mixture of equal parts of mineral spirits, linseed oil and spar ureathane. It is a pretty durable finish. The drawback to carving trees is there usually is not time to let them dry sufficiently so mildew sometimes forms under the finish. This is the reason a lot of the carvings are painted or burned or both.

I do think chainsaw carving makes me a better or at the very least faster at hand carving. With the saw you have to "see" the forms and shapes clearly before you cut and to get anything done you have to keep focused on those forms because you are moving fast. Can't just stand there looking at it.

Glad to help Rich. You will love the cedar with all the knots and the smell of the cedar!!!...once you start sanding you won't want to smell cedar ever again! It does make for beautiful carvings though!

Mark

 

[ReynoldsJay]

This is awesome. The flow is wonderful and a true work of art.

 

[dozer]

Wow great job on this a real talent is shown through this piece.

 

[KenOfCary]

Simply amazing. Very well executed. - Ken.

 

[ccccarving]

That is some fantastic work. I wish you lived near Greensboro so you could attend Tar Heel woodcarvers. I am struggling with interest of club members .

 

[anna_seth]

This looks awesome. I have always been fascinated with trees carved like this one. It's hard to work on such a huge log and not be able to move it at all. This has been a tradition of Native North American Indians that up to now, can still make people stop and pause to stare at. This is also the best thing to do for trees that have died and dried up over time. A.S.

 

[bwat]

WOW! Very nice work!