This past Saturday I went on a bit of a nostalgia tour. Way up in the northwest corner of the Big Sky state (Montana), there’s a nice little town called Libby. The first time I went to Libby was when I was a very small fry. My family went to visit some friends there, and if I recall correctly, we were thinking about moving there. My only vivid memory of the place was reeling in a massive rainbow trout at the base of The Libby Dam.
Fast forward a decade and our family was in Libby again, but this time it was for track meet reasons. We lived in Thompson Falls, Montana and I was there competing in a track meet on the tail end of one of the worst winters in recorded history. I distinctly remember refusing to strip down to my tiny tank top and running shorts in the seven degree weather while jogging between sixteen foot high piles of snow trying to keep warm. Good times.
This past Saturday, however, Libby was lit! Actually it was more than a bit noisy, for the entire downtown had been taped off and chainsaw artisans were all sawing up some really fine works of art. Now, I have been around chainsaw carving for my entire existence. Usually though, it was someone’s grandpa, an old busheler who carved bears, eagles, or other Pacific Northwest wildlife as a hobby and sold them for some extra cash.
Chainsaws are not foreign to me, I mean, my first actual job was blowing out air breathers in the saw shop for my dad in the logging camp. I’m pretty sure that some of our first words were probably O-46 and 0-66 as all the men in my dad’s family were timber fallers.
But let me tell you something, chainsaw art, it has evolved! There in downtown Libby I saw a display of craftsmanship that left me speechless at times! There was a lady from Germany who was carving a rearing horse with her saw. The way she flourished the special little art bar and created rippling hair on the rearing equine left me with my mouth hanging open.
Apparently there is a show in the Discovery Channel that showcases chainsaw artists from around the world. (A Cut Above) Many of the subjects of that show were present at the championship. I watched artists from Wales, Lithuania, Ireland, and even Africa!
According to the event’s website ,twenty of the top carvers from around the world competed against each other during September 7th-10th, and I can’t even express how amazing the competitors talent was!
The skeletal hand holding a rose just blew my mind! The detail and intricacy achieved was mesmerizing. From mythical creatures to miners, there was a carving to delight pretty much anybody!
All in all, I am so pleased that I got to see such a glorious display of human creativity. The hum of the saws took me back to my childhood, along with the scent of shredded wood, and the dang fine company and Mexican food at Rosita’s Mexican Restaurant in Libby that we enjoyed afterward really cemented the event into my memory bank as one of the finer days I have ever enjoyed!
And as most of the time, all of the images in this post were taken on the author's still coated in a fine layer of sawdust iPhone.