Carvers 2019
The following 24 Carvers were successfully drawn from 32 entrants.
This list may be subject to change, should Carvers circumstances change in the interim.
For further information on the Carvers, please click on the Carvers Name to follow their links.
SimonArcher
UK
Simon is from Liverpool, UK and has a formal background in Fine Art and sculpture and now works exclusively as a wood sculptor/chainsaw artist.
“Most of my work is commission based, whether it’s carving large dead tree stumps in parks or small pieces for domestic gardens. I also try to make time to experiment with my studio work, trying new ideas and working more intuitively.” “I have carved and competed in numerous chainsaw carving events and competitions within the UK and America in the last five years. These include- Chaptacular 2018, The English Open 2017, Carve Carrbridge 2017,2016,2015,2014, The APF 2016,2018,The Royal Lancs Show 2017”
Payment methods accepted – Cash or Card
Argentina
Adrian is based in Villa Elisa, near Buneos Aires and has been carving wood for 10 years; In 2017 he travelled to Sweden to work as part of the 26 person team carving the annual ice hotel there.
Payment Methods accepted – cash
Peter Bowsher
UK
In carving terms Pete is the original ‘Weekend Warrior’. Winner in 7 out of 13 years, but had to hand the title to top US carver Bob King in 2009 and then watched countryman Iain Chalmers secure it three years in a row before he was able to seize the No.1 slot from him in 2013. Polish carver Wladek Ligocki took the coveted title in 2016, in 2017 Lithuanian newcomer Raimondas Uzdravis took the crown. Pete achieved 2nd place in 2018. Pete’s has a wealth of commissions and installations to his credit and ,local press releases give testament to his achievements
Payment Methods accepted – cash
Mike Burgess
UK
I have been carving since 2013 and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I took up carving as a hobby due to an injury that stopped my professional rugby career. And I haven’ t looked back since. I enjoy being outside and not being sat behind a desk. Everyday is a learning day and I get to meet some great people.
Carve Carrbridge is an awesome competition and I’ve loved competing here the last 2 years. I’ve even ventured back for a holiday as it’s beautiful here.
Payment Methods accepted Cash, Card
Iain Chalmers
Scotland
Based on the Black Isle in the Scottish Highlands, Iain has been sculpting wood with a chainsaw for over 8 years with literally thousands of chainsaw carvings under his belt. Iain performs at shows, games and exibitions such as the Royal Highland Show, Garden Scotland and The Black Isle Show. Iain has competed at the Scottish Open Chainsaw Carving Championship™ aka CarveCarrbridge™ for 14 years having won the Tom Jones Claymore 3 times consecutively and Peoples Choice many times.
Payment Methods accepted – cash
Josh Dagg
Canada
Josh hails from Aylmer, near Ottowa in Canada. Aged 19 he started a career as a professional log house builder, but also found the world of wood carving and with the encouragement of his parents made a life built around both. 20 years on he is still mixing building homes with creating art. This is his 5th visit to Carve Carrbridge.
Payment Methods accepted – cash
James Elliott
UK
A Glasgow-based ( near Hamilton) Wood Sculptor working with sustainably sourced timber. James originally trained as an illustrator and had a ‘Eureka’ moment when working as a Tree Surgeon and traded his pens and brushes for chainsaws and Chisels and has never looked back.
James specialises in wildlife sculptures and has a great passion for historical and mythological subjects and hopes to push further towards high impact, large scale works as his career progresses
Payment Methods accepted Cash, Card
Damon Goreki
USA
A Freeform Carver, Damon aka the ‘Barefootcarver’ from Salt Lake City Utah, will be making his 2nd appearance at Carve Carrbridge in 2019. Damon gave up welding and started Carving 9 years ago. Damon says he has no preset plan, blueprint or sketch that he draws from in creating his art. “I try not to plan anything—I like to go in and just let the wood tell me what it wants to be,” “I’ll get rid of everything that’s bad and then look for shapes. Once you start finding shapes, you can add designs and just try and make everything flow.”
Payment Methods accepted – cash
Sylvia Itzen
Germany
Starting with stone carving and painting, since 17 years with the chainsaw on the way to create art. Successful participation in national and international chainsaw events and exhibitions. 2016/17 and 2018 successful participation in the German championship in speedcarving.
Participation in social projects. Even workshops with the severely disabled and implementation / organization / management of the NordheideCup 2017 (chainsaw event) are part of the area of responsibility.
The different sculptures, whether abstract or figural.
Payment Methods accepted Cash, Paypal
Martin Kalman
Slovakia
A newcomer in 2018 to CarveCarrbridge, Martin got 3rd Place and Best New Entrant. Martin hails from Horehronie in Slovakia and has been carving for some 11 years now. Back in 2007 Martin was a permanent member of an opera choir, but found that working with wood excited him so much that he turned his back on music to become a woodcarver. He says that he is inspired by the beauty of women, of nature and the ideal of belonging. With every piece of wood, he tries to create an intimate relationship, to touch it, observe it, draw from it the energy that transforms into a work that produces positive emotions in man.
Payment Methods accepted – cash
Igor Kučera
Czech Republic
Igor was our first entrant from the Czech Republic back in 2015 and is back again for more speed carving fun. He is ‘on tour’ with fellow carver Wladek from Poland. Igor started drawing and carving small pieces from pine bark aged 5. He attended a school of visual arts and went on to study graphic design at university in the Czech Republic where he worked after graduating. Later he started his own graphic studio in Leicester. At 43 he eventually learned to work with a chainsaw and started carving life-sized statues.
Since then, he has taken part in many woodcarving shows and competitions in Czech Republic, Slovakia, UK and USA.
Payment Methods accepted – cash
Władysław Ligocki
Poland
Overall winner in 2016, Wladek is once again on tour with fellow carver Igor and back at Carve Carrbridge for more chainsaw fun…..
Payment Methods accepted – cash
Roni MacDonald
Scotland
Based in Oban Roni has been a regular competitor since the beginning of the event. He remains hopeful of secure a place on the podium, but claims his downfall as being too easily led astray in the Cairn Hotel bar by his fellow competitors!
Sam Bowsher
Scotland
Sam has grown up with Carve Carrbridge often attending with his dad Pete and confesses that he did his first carving 3 years ago when his dad was away on holiday. He got the bug when he sold his first carving which was an oversized spaniel and has been carving full time for just a few months after working as a welder for a few years..
Sam’s business is called “Chip Off The Old Block Chainsaw Carving” as most people who know the carving scene will have heard of his dad Chainsaw Pete.
‘I enjoy carving wildlife and pets, as well as small slightly cartooned human figures that I hope have loads of personality. I can’t wait to let rip at Carve Carrbridge and hope to have the same success as my old Block has!’
David Roberts
Wales
Carver David Roberts hails from Wales but resides in Portlethen near Aberdeen. This is his 7th year at the Scottish Open Chainsaw Carving Competition. David is a part time wood sculptor and trades as Dervish Carvings. David is a scientist, diver, climber and a chainsaw-carver and not one to be bored..
Payment Methods accepted Cash, Card
Arran Scott
UK
‘I am a UK based Chainsaw Sculptor from East Sussex and have been chainsaw carving since 2011 although full time for just 2 years.
Arran carves at many of the living heritage shows across the country, as well as Woodfest country show (North Wales) and will be heading to Carrbridge straight from Tomsk in Russia, where he is competing with over 200 master wood carvers in their annual Ax Festival.
Arran thrives on the pressure from the speed carves throughout these events and enjoys the competitive elements of live events. Throughout the shows last year he became recognised for his unique figures which adopt an abstract finish to encourage the audience to engage and connect with the overall composition, and to bring their own experiences and perspective in response to the sculpture.
‘My sculptures are a playful exploration of motion and movement in the human form through the deliberate and skilled use of positive and negative space’
Payment Methods accepted – cash, same day BACS transfer
Marcos Mariño Seoane
Spain
Sculptor Gallego (Spain), trained in the school of applied arts Master Mateo of Santiago de Compostela twenty years ago. I have been working with chainsaws for 4 years now and I have already attended several international events and competitions. I am also the official sculptor of Husqvarna for Spain and Portugal. In these years I have made several sculptures for different cities of my country and abroad, in addition to countless demonstrations throughout the country.
International events:
– Participation in X Ax Festival in Tomsk (Russia) in 2017.
– Participation in the III International Sculpture Symposium of Temuco (Chile) in 2018.
– Paricipation in the second Open of Igualada (Cataluña) in 2018.
– Participation in the Open of England 2018.
– Participation in the European Chainsaw Carving Championship in UK in 2018.
– Participation in the Autumn Chainsaw Carving Steel Beavers in Kaunas in 2018.
Payment Method Cash or Paypal
Garry Shand
Scotland
Garry, originally from Huntly, Aberdeenshire first competed at Carve Carrbridge in 2008 and has been every year since
Garry placed 3rd in 2015 with his popular carving of “Groot” from the Marvem movie “Guardians of the galaxy”
Garry is a full-time chainsaw sculptor operating from his home/workshop in Drummuir, Moray.
Although he enjoys travelling to enjoys travelling to international carving events and competitions, he spends most of his time carving commissions and his popular “wee coo’s”!
Payment Methods accepted – cash
Jonathan Sherwood
UK
Jonathan is a part time sculptor combining a day job and university studies (Materials Engineering) and currently lives in Harrogate. He first started chainsaw carving when he was 16 and has been developing his skills ever since. Jonathan won best newcomer at Carve Carrbridge a couple of years ago… His brother Mike Burgess is also competing this year so we have a sibling challenge…
UK
‘Jonny Chainsaw’ as he’s known comes from Lintlithgow near Edinburgh. He is a full time arborist and is entering the event for the 10th time. Well known for wearing the most decorative sporran at the ceilidh!
Payment Methods Accepted – Cash, debit/credit cards (may incur a fee), and bank transfer from some Banking Apps.
Craig Steele
Scotland
An arborist from the southwest corner of Scotland, Dundonald in South Ayshire, Craig ‘Steeley’ Steele has a lifelong passion for rural pursuits. This is his 7th year at the event he came along for a number of years to watch before picking up his saws to show us what he’s made of.
He loves the features and textures of wood and draws inspiration from the wildlife and natural environment of the woodlands where he works part-time allowing space to practice his Carving craft.
Whilst exploring the island beaches and hidden gems of Scotland, Steeley is always to be found where the party is!
Payment Methods accepted Cash
Michael Tamozus
Germany
2018 winner with ‘Girl in the Wind’ ,Michael comes from Herrenberg on the edge of the Black Forest in Germany and is entering the event for the 7th time. Michael won best new entrant in 2009.
Ian Williams
Wales
Attending the event for a 4th year, Ian comes from North Wales and was a Firefighter for 30 yrs, carving a a hobby, he decided to finish fire fighting and carve full time and has been carving for 3 years full time, but still learning.
‘I love Carrbridge as it is a massive challenge to carve in 4 hrs, the atmosphere is fantastic and I love being here.’
All his carvings are made from trees which have either fell naturally or need to be felled for woodland management purposes and his aim is to try to ‘make the trees come back to life with all of the beauty of the wood showing through’.
Payment Methods Cash, Credit or Debit Card
Remaining applicants are held on a waiting list.