These days however the people who haven´t seen it are a rapidly diminishing minority; largely because of an ever increasing number of those who are trying their hand at it.  Recent years have shown a decline in the sensationalism provided by the use of such a tool to create art.  In truth, years past, any one that could operate a chainsaw could sell their carvings and make good money.  The gimmick would sell even if ability was lacking. Today this art form is entering into a realm of its own as a more aware public is less impressed with the  aura of the "gimmick" and therefore understandably more discriminating when purchasing work made by this method. More and more the work made through the use of this tool must stand on its own merit and not on the unique method used to devise it.

Still, It is troubling to me, that there are many "Chainsaw Carvers" around who have not studied the  technical aspects of wood in terms of proper methods of drying, treating, and finishing wood, so as to stabilize it.  It doesn't take long for the novice to become disappointed with the process of carving "green" wood before he realizes that without proper stabilizing procedures his work is very likely to crack as it dries out.  This is due to disproportionate shrinkage, and although this problem can be remedied it does however take some time. Consequently, there are many who choose to sell there sculpture without stabilizing it; or they will tell their customer to apply some voodoo concoction to the wood, like automotive antifreeze, to keep it from cracking.  I have no little contempt for the many unscrupulous individuals who are aware of this, but continue to sell their work, knowing that this is likely to happen.   To sell their sculptures to unsuspecting customers is nothing short of a scam. The art lover who purchases such a piece and ends up with a blemished if not completely disfigured sculpture is likely to never purchase another.  And that directly effects me, as well as many other reputable wood sculptors.

To those who are considering the purchase of a chainsaw sculpture I recommend a knowledge of the reputation of the individual from whom you wish to purchase, and perhaps some sort of guarantee. True enough, it is next to impossible to dry a piece of tree thoroughly without some cracks occurring.  The important difference is that a carver is not dealing fairly if he does not let his customers know what to expect, and or how to deal with it. When I sell a "raw" (uncured) chainsaw carving, I sell it with instructions on how to cure it to lessen, if not completely eliminate the checks created by shrinkage as the carving dries.  With the procedure I have developed over the years, this is kept minimal to nonexistent in the vast majority of the pieces I make.  On the other hand all of the sculptures that I put up on my Web Site for sale are completely stable and guaranteed not to crack, whether they are made with a chainsaw or not. If they do you may ship them back to me at my cost and receive full refund of your purchase.  When you consider the rustic image created through rich textures provided by the chainsaw, the cracks left from the drying process can add further enhancements to the overall impression created by the carving process. What's important to you in purchasing a sculpture is that it does not visually change after the purchase. If you purchase a chainsaw carving from Jerry Ward you are guaranteed "what you see is what you get" for the lifetime of the carving. In other words my sculptures are guaranteed not to crack after purchase. Be aware of this if you are competitively shopping,  this guarantee is a factor in the price, and will make the carving more costly. 

I first began using the chainsaw simply to knock of corners of large carvings which would save me countless hours to remove with a wood chisel.  This was the early seventies though and the chainsaws of the day were still heavy and slow by today´s standards. For that reason it wasn´t until about 1980 that I began using it in earnest in all my carvings.  At this point I was still finishing all of my carvings with conventional tools so as to remove all marks made by the saw. That same year however I was offered a promotional opportunity by a chainsaw distributor to travel about the United States doing my carving with the chainsaw before crowds of people at fairs and expositions. When the promotion was over two years later I was a commensurate chainsaw carver, and I had learned through my travels that carvings made with this tool were immensely popular.  

Chainsaw carvings can be seen intermingled with all artwork in the Art Gallery.  You may immediately distinguish the chainsaw carvings from the rest by the beginning letter of the Cat. No. which will start with a "C". To see the chainsaw carvings I currently have for sale click here