Chainsaw Carving is a Chip Off the Old Block

Chainsaw carving combines the ancient art of carving with the modern technology of the chainsaw, commonly used for tree felling. The artist uses the chainsaw to carve a wooden trunk or block, in a performance that is fascinating to watch.


As with most art forms, chainsaw carving has been used to create fan art of popular media characters from films and games. Most of these character statues are carved from several pieces of wood that are fitted together during the carving process.


Carving of Big Daddy from Bioshock
A chainsaw artist, Jason, creates a chainsaw carving of a Big Daddy from the game, Bioshock. The video below shows the process from selecting wood to completing the tiniest detail.

Above: A video of the chainsaw carving process, which shows a chainsaw artist called Jason carving a Bog Daddy character from the popular game, Bioshock.

Above: The finished sculpture. The large statue is highly detailed and beautifully finished.

Chainsawed Characters from Star Wars

George Lucas's famous movies, Star Wars, have inspired artists to create fan art of the movies' characters. Chainsaw carving lends itself particularly well to woolly and furry characters such as Chewbacca and the Ewoks.

Above: Chewbacca, with Jar Jar Binks. These chainsaw carvings were displayed at an extreme sports event. Apparently the artist won the audience's heart when he cut Jar Jar Binks' head off with a chainsaw.

Above: The Ewoks, a furry alien race from the Star Wars films. The artist has painted the wood to give the statues more character.

Lord of the Rings Characters in Chainsaw Art

JRR Tolkien's famous fantasy novel, The Lord of the Rings, has a cast of fascinating and unique characters.  A favorite character from the books and films is Gandalf the wizard, with his long beard and flowing robes, this staff-carrying warrior wizard is highly recognizable, even from afar.

Above: A flat panel chainsaw carving of Gandalf the Grey, from The Lord of the Rings. 

Above: A B-grade depiction of Gollum, mutated hobbit who lives underground and speaks in sibilant riddles.

Above: An ent, a tree character, carved into the trunk of a living tree. Ents can move, talk and have a culture of their own.

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Glass Sculpture Gives a Clear View on Design

Glass sculptures are also known as studio glass. These are items that have been made from glass with a purely decorative purpose in mind. This versatile art style allows glass workers to create a world of shiny, transparent art works.


Making Glass Art Sculptures
Most people are familiar with the method of glass blowing, in which a lump of glass is heated and then hollowed as air is blown into the glass. This creates a bulb or tube, depending on how the glass blower treats the glass. Other ways to create glass art include stained glass, lampworking, coldworking, beadmaking, casting and fusing.

Above: This glass art sculpture has been created through the process of glass blowing. The delicate design is accentuated with patterns that have been worked into the glass.

Above: This glass ball has swirls of colored glass bulbs trapped inside it.

Above: These glass flowers are fun decorations for kids' rooms or a lively restaurant.

Above: An abstract art glass sculpture

Glass Sculptures as Interior Decor

Glass sculptures come in a variety of sizes, from small paperweights to large, rambling sculptures. In the home or office, glass sculptures can be displayed on a shelf or side table as an aesthetic talking piece. Many glass artists will create a sculpture according to the customer's needs in terms of size, shape and color, which means that glass art can be custom made to a person's desires.

Above: An abstract art glass sculpture depicting a squid-like creature.

Above: Using different colors of glass, this artist has created an explosion of color.

Above: This design boasts an alienish essence, as the shape, color and pattern make the art work appear to be an alien seed pod or egg sac.

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5 Funny Art Installations

Art installations are physical, sculptural art works that are displayed in public areas. These works of art often have a social or political message, although sometimes, they are simply created to amuse.


"Inversion" aka "Tunnel House"
Houston artists Dan Havel and Dean Ruck transformed a courtyard between two houses into a vortex-like tunnel. The art installation is made using wooden boards; in keeping with the architecture of the area. The finished result is the illusion that some form of black hole has sucked a house into itself, leaving a portal into worlds unknown.

Human Bird Nest Installation
Benjamin Verdonck, a Belgian artist, created this funny art installation, called "The Great Swallow". The artist lived in the human-sized birds nest for several days.

Ice Cream Van Melts in the Sun
In this beach art installation, a large sculpture depicts an ice cream van that has melted under the hot Australian sun.

Art Installation is a Load of Cr*p
Paul McCarthy's "Complex Shit" art installation is made up of enormous inflatable plastic feces. The art work, which was displayed in the garden of a Swiss museum, blew away in a strong wind, bringing down a power line and damaging a glass greenhouse before coming to earth on the grounds of a children's home.

Octo-pied Building has Tentacular Cancer
Artists FilthyLuker and Pedro Estrellas created this hilarious art installation that displays inflatable octopus tentacles waving from the windows of a French building. FilthyLuker comments, "Octo-pied building: a house with tentacular cancer."

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Hobo Nickels are the Currency of Art

A hobo nickel is a small denomination coin that has been sculpted in an artistic manner. Usually, the artwork is a portrait carved into the surface of the coin, to replace the original coin artwork.


Why Carve Nickels?

Although a number of coins are used, the American nickel is a favorite among coin carvers, because it is soft and easy to carve. The art form began, as many art styles do, as a means of entertainment, and was popular among homeless people (hobos) and soldiers, as a way to pass the time. Softer coin sculptures can be created with the tip of a knife, and the medium and tools carried easily in a pocket, making it an ideal art form for those on the move.
Most hobo nickel coin carvings replace the original portrait on the coin with a portrait of the artist's own creation.

 

 

Top left: a realistic carving of a skull replaces the original head on the coin. 

Top right: A hobo nickel artists' distinctive style shows through the coin carving design.

Bottom left: A humorously grinning parody of Death, wearing a crown and smoking a cigar.

Bottom right: A viking portrait decorates the coin in place of the original design.

Love Tokens or Art Works?

The earliest recorded Hobo nickels are from the 18th century, and the majority of coin carvings recovered from this period are love tokens. These would most often be created by machining a coin smooth and then carving the lovers' initials or a design into the face of the coin.

 

Top: Love token hobo nickels were often crafted to be worn on a necklace.

Bottom: This love coin has the lovers' initials and the date, surrounded by artistic carvings.

Money as Art

Although it is not illegal to deface coins in the name of art, it is illegal to alter money with the intention of cheating another person. As long as hobo nickels are sold as an art work, and not returned into circulation, most authorities will turn a blind eye to this art form.

   

Above: Animals such as lions, owls and raccoon have been used as subject matter for the coin art carvings. 

Bottom right: A beautiful woman is carved into this coin, beside the word, "liberty". Although it is not clear, this could be the artist's personal rendition of the political ideal personified in the Statue of Liberty.

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