Our van travels give us the chance to stumble on the unexpected. On this fall afternoon we watched a wooden sculpture find its way out of a log. We met Jason Soderlund, a master of the wooden sculpture, as he was lining up four Stihl chainsaws on a green utility box behind a block of restaurants in Stillwater, Minnesota. Jason believes, “Chainsaws are like golf clubs, each has its own use.”
While Jason prepped his work area underneath a pop-up tent canopy I asked, “Are you going to start soon?”
Gesturing to his collection of gas-powered tools, he said, “Just as soon as I fill up my tanks.”
In under an hour, we watched Jason turn a bark-covered, four-foot tall, white pine log into a friendly bear. Lift Bridge Brewing Company was hosting its second in a series of launch parties for their new beer, Berry Blonde. The berry flavored ale was available for tasting at Brian’s Bar & Grill on Main Street, but once Jason tugged on the chainsaw’s start cord he drew the crowd.
Customers dangling cigarettes between their fingers wandered in and out of the bar’s backdoor to watch the bear take shape. The hum of a chainsaw motor in Stillwater’s historic downtown was an unexpected sound. Curiosity pulled waitstaff out of nearby eateries. They came outside bearing bags of trash and bundles of recycling, but opted to linger, joining the ebb and flow of onlookers.
Jason’s carving station was behind a temporary portable fence that allowed viewers to see all the action without accidentally stepping inside the chainsaw zone. As he maneuvered around the log, now and then Jason would pause, as if he was seeing each bit of the bear before his chainsaw took a bite out of the wood. He kept peering at his model, a purple bear on a turquoise blue t-shirt. Nodding at the tee, Jason said, “It’s a little different than how I usually do a bear.”
When he turned off a saw, an onlooker would ask a question. Jason is an artist that expects interruptions and would slip one ear out of his yellow DeWalt hearing protectors, to respond to queries. Mine were endless, but Jason was working, changing saws as needed and picking up the scrapes, tidying his temporary studio, as he carved out a piece here and a wedge there. The tent air filled with wood particles, scenting the air with fresh pine and giving the impression that it was raining sawdust. I tried to hold onto my questions, but they kept running out of my mouth. I asked, “How did you become a chainsaw carver?”
“I attended an arts high school, then did a two-year apprenticeship. I liked how fast a piece could take shape,” said Jason who’s been carving for 17 years. He does about 500 pieces a year and prefers white pine because it has the best woodgrain and the sap sets over the winter making it a good wood for carving. It was a cool fall evening. Jason was wearing cargo shorts and a zip-up sweatshirt, but he wasn’t cold. His art form is also part cardio workout.
While we watched, we chatted with Chris Tweit from the Lift Bridge Brewing Company’s marketing department. He loved talking about beer and Stillwater. He let us know that the bar owner was thinking of naming the sculpture “Berry Manilow.”
We wandered down the block to look at the riverboats on the St. Croix River, when we came back Jason welcomed us with, “Oh hey! I took a break. Now I’m going to put some texture in the fur.”
He used the 14-inch chainsaw to carve the impression of fur on the legs and torso, then pulled out the 8-inch blade to work on the bear’s snout, mouth and inner ears. Jason created the bear’s eyes with a wood burning tool, then used a rotating sander to clean up bits of wood fuzz clinging to the sculpture. As a final touch Jason sawed a crevice down the bear’s back. He explained, “A lot of carvers don’t do that, but it keeps cracks from forming just like a concrete expansion joint. I’ll recommend linseed oil to slow down the drying.”
I noticed a natural knot near the bear’s right shoulder that could be mistaken for a tattoo, and one of its ears looked pierced. Berry Manilow came out of the wood with distinct physical traits. After giving his piece a final once over, Jason picked up the bear and lugged him into the bar. More examples of his work can be found at Soderlundswoodmill.com
