John Roberts Chainsaw Woodcarvings
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John Roberts Chainsaw Woodcarvings
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In a Reno Gazette-Journal article, BUZZ Goes this artist as he creates, by TRACEY WONG BRIGGS, she writes: As Michelangelo called sculpting freeing the figure from the stone, so John Roberts calls his work clearing the wood from the sculpture. But Roberts isn't chipping away with a chisel - he's roaring away with a chain saw. Covered by a tan leather apron, ear muffs and work goggles, Roberts slices and trims out eagles, bears and seamen from logs. A traveling folk artist from Klamath Falls, Ore., he'll be working in front of the Trading Post on South Virginia Street for another week. "We don't have a particular destination - we go the way the wind blows. We'll find a place on the side of the road and start making noise." The bearded, burly six-footer speaks cheerfully, as one who thoroughly enjoys making sawdust. Roberts and hi wife, Jeannie, brought five chain saws and maybe a dozen cedar posts to Reno a week ago and are staying with Joe Yeoman, part-owner of the Trading Post. The rows of concrete fountains, Madonnas and ducks out front have been moved over, behind the tractors, to make room for Roberts' canopy. "It's sort of like Barnum and Bailey, the way we do it. We got the tent and the sawdust and everything." Everything refers to dozens of wooden carvings - raccoons, bears, Daniel Boone ("I call him the Macho Mountain Man"), seamen and cigar-store Indians. On the corner where Holcomb Lane feeds South Virginia Street is Roberts' biggest work - a bearded sea captain, manning a ship's wheel. It weighs 500 pounds. "A self-portrait," an observer notes. Roberts looks for a moment. "They all turn out looking like me, for some reason." Indeed, stocky little Daniel Boone has rounded cheeks and a puffy beard, as do several different sea captains. "A guy just can't have enough chain saws," he said happily. "I believe in having the right tools for the job." Roberts, a taxidermist by trade said he's been an artist all his life. He painted in oils and carved duck decoys until four years ago, when a chain saw carver came to Klamath Falls, "I'd seen a (chain saw-carved) bear before, and I always thought I should have bought it. So when this guy came to town and started carving a bear, I owned it before he got down to the neck." That carver saw Roberts' duck decoys and encouraged him to try hi hand at the saw. "I had no ideas of selling - I just grabbed the saw and tried it. If it hadn't worked out, I probably would have burned it and that would have been the end of it. Roberts hasn't whittled a decoy since - chain saw carving is more his style. "It's probably my impatience. With this, you can see results in an hour." Sculptures take anywhere from a day to a couple of weeks to complete. Roberts saws much of the detail, tilting the saw to shave bits off. Only 2 percent of the carving is done by hand. "A chin saw is basically a good rotary grinder with two good handles to hang onto," he said. "Time is money - the faster I go, the more I make." His sculptures sell from $35 for the smallest to $2500 for the giant sea captain. How much does he make? "Just enough to make a living, to buy enough gas to get to the next town." "Tell 'em you're a Christian," said his wife, a quiet woman with dark eyes and soft, brown hair. "That's where he gets his talent, from God. His primary job is preaching the gospel - he does this to make a living while we tour the country. We get to talk to a lot of people who'd never go to a church."
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