Home Page

Carving out a niche
Local carver hopes to turn hobby into career

By Barbara Brown
Rush Cityís Dave Wuorinen has to have steady hands for his hobby. If not, heads will roll.
ìOne wrong move and youíll chop off a beak,î Wuorinen said.
Wuorinen has improved as a chainsaw sculptor in the past three months that his steady hand has brought creatures like eagles, bears and a howling wolf out of chunks of wood.
Wuorinen said he toyed with the idea of sculpting years ago, but the hobby never really stuck.
He said he picked up the saw again several months ago after watching a man named John Gage, a world-renowned chainsaw sculptor. Fans of Gage call him ìthe master,î Wuorinen said.
ìI watched him for five hours one Saturday,î he said. ìI thought he was going to throw me out.
ìI thought Iíd give it a shot again,î Wuorinen said.
Wuorinen said he enjoys transforming chunks of pine and oak into eagles and bears, although he has dabbled in other animal forms.
A construction worker and father of four, Wuorinen said the extra money he earns from his sculptors, like the ones he sold last weekend during the Threshing and Saw Show just north of Rush City, is welcome, but his dreams for the art are larger.
ìI hope one day people will know my work,î Wuorinen said.
Wuorinen said he doesnít necessarily pick a piece of wood for its potential.
ìSome guys who have been doing it a long time say they can see if a piece of wood is going to be an eagle or a bear or whatever,î he said. ìI just start carving.î
Wuorinen has spent weekends during the last few months working in the parking lots of the Main Street Market in Rush City and the Holiday gas station parking lot.
He has demonstrated, amid a flurry of wood chips and saw dust, that even new hobbies can be developed into passions.
Wuorinen said it takes him about one and a half hours to complete a bear and about two hours to complete an eagle.
The pieces come stained, but most will not be painted, Wuorinen said.
For information, call Wuorinen at (612) 986-3539.

Top of Page

©ECM Post Review

6448 Main Street
North Branch, MN 55056
Telephone: 651-674-7025
Fax: 651-674-7026
E-mail: editor.postreview@ecm-inc.com