Chainsaw Rendezvous 2011 - Ridgway, PA

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Battenkiller

Minister of Fire
Hearth Supporter
Nov 26, 2009
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Just Outside the Blue Line
Anybody that is near the Allegheny National Forest in western Pennsylvania next week should drop in to Ridgway, PA to check out the international chainsaw carving rendezvous that will be going on from Feb. 19-26. Over 200 of the very best chainsaw artists in the world will be in attendance... and one schmuck beginner (me). The event draws about 25,000 people from all over the country. On Sat, Feb. 26, all carvers will be submitting a carving to the auction, the proceeds of which go to charity. Your chance to buy a world-class work of art (or one of mine) at a very reasonable price.

So, if y'all like chainsaws as much as you say you do and are anywhere in the area, drop in for a day. You'll never get another chance to hear what 200 2-stoke engines sound like revving at 14,000 RPMs all at the same time.

Anybody interested in actually participating in the event, drop me a PM and I'll fill you in. No need for prior skill, I'll even let you borrow a saw if you don't have one of your own to use. I don't have a big enough shelter for more than myself, but I'd have no problem with anybody parking in front of my spot and having a place to duck in out of the rain if needed.
 
"Your chance to buy a world-class work of art (or one of mine) at a very reasonable price."

Would you be offended if I reworded that to say, "Your chance to buy a world-class piece of wood, cut with a chainsaw...?" :-)
 
DanCorcoran said:
Would you be offended if I reworded that to say, "Your chance to buy a world-class piece of wood, cut with a chainsaw...?" :-)
Click to expand...


I always liked the line from "The Grapes of Wrath", where Tom Joad says, "I don't take no offense except a poke in the nose."

Hard to get a poke in the nose off the World Wide Interweb. ;-P


Chainsaw art... well, it ain't for everybody, but the way I see it, the very best of them are doing something equally as valid an art form as are photography, ceramics, or glass. These days, folks is movin' away from the same ol' black bears, even doing some pretty abstract stuff. Metal art suffered the same ignominious beginnings within the fine art world, mostly because the first guys were just taking found junk and welding it together any old way. The metal arts have now risen to one of the most prestigious art forms of all, mainly because serious artists found a medium that would allow the exploration of negative space is a way that was impractical with stone. I see a wave of new artists emerging, sculpting in wood, and using a chainsaw as a brush instead of chopping away with slow and tedious hand tools that only serve to sniffle any artist vision due to their lack of spontaneity.

Here's a couple videos that give you a sense of the place, what goes on there, and a few really interesting pieces mixed in with the folk art.


(broken link removed to http://www.chainsawrendezvous.org/html/s02_article/article_view.asp?article_id=269&nav_cat_id=-1&nav_top_id=-1)


I know I'm gonna have a blast... if I don't cut my fool head off. Hope to see a few folks there. ;-)
 
Lee, the current plan is to drive down Sunday night and arrive on Monday. We booked a room at the Summit for Monday thru Thursday nights. However, I am getting my stuff together tomorrow, and if it doesn't rain and flood my basement between now and Saturday I'd like to take off a day earlier. I'll shoot you a PM if I'm doing that and try to connect with you somehow. It's my first time there (I'm just starting at it), so I'm not sure where everything is, but it's all out in the open and should be hard to miss. The whole town lights up for it best I can tell, so anyone there could direct you... or just follow the trucks full of logs.
 
Ja, The Summit Hotel is at the top of Bootjack. You won't have to drive very far . I can make it during the week easier than this weekend any way.
I know that town pretty good.Great place for grub in town called Timber Jacks.
 
Lee, I will be checking in here now and then while I'm gone. Send me a PM when you know you are coming and I'll be able to tell you where I am. I'll be the short, heavy-set bald guy with the beautiful wife and the new looking chainsaws.
 
Have a blast BK - you best post some photos of your first try..........don't hold back! I think you should go for a bat, hanging upside down from the log - oh.....I can just see it now...... :cheese:
 
Thanks,no it's not mine.

I did take these though. You can see my queen at 12:00. she has a long tapered body without the black stripes. You can also see larvae < 3 days old before it's capped. You can also see eggs which look like little white strings in the cell.

(broken image removed)


This one is better for finding eggs. I actually take the pic to find the eggs because it means the queen is alive and well, and I have a hard time seeing them with my eyes. It looks like a baby bee hatching at 9:00
(broken image removed)
 
Guy said:
Did you make it BK ?I woke up to 10 inches of winter and Ridgway isn't far from here.
Guy
Click to expand...

We decided not to chance driving at night in the storm, so we left early this morning. We didn't get here until 5 PM, but we got here alive and will set up tomorrow.

Yes, I will post pics of my first piece. I have no sense of shame.
 
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