Will it be a three-peat for Jake Rhodes at the U.S. Open Chainsaw Sculpture Championship in 2025?
The 29-year-old Burk’s Falls resident won the elite international event in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in 2023 and repeated as champion in 2024.
This year, Rhodes’ wood sculpture of an eagle with a fish and a grizzly bear with its cub was good enough to beat several Americans, as well as competitors from Australia, Wales, Scotland, Japan, and one chainsaw carver from Edmonton.
When he won the championship for the first time in 2023, he sculpted a moose that was eight feet tall when adding its antlers and included a grey owl and loon.
The accomplishment is noteworthy considering the event is by invitation only and Rhodes was not on the invitation list for the 2023 championship.
Rhodes was in Eau Claire that year visiting a chainsaw wood carving friend of his who was also a judge at the event.
“One of the Australian carvers became ill the very first day and they needed someone to take his spot,” said Rhodes.
Once you win the championship, you automatically qualify for the following year’s event. All the pieces made by the competitors at Eau Claire are auctioned off at the site following the competition.
Rhodes is mostly self-taught in the art of chainsaw wood sculpting and fell into the art form by accident. Born in the Newmarket area, Rhodes headed to Pemberton, B.C., north of Whistler, as a teenager to work in the timber industry. His work involved pushing logs in the water into larger bundles to help prepare them for transport.
Rhodes said the logging camp was in the middle of nowhere and at night, there was nothing to do.
“There were all these logs lying around and I had a chainsaw,” Rhodes said.
“I just started playing around at first — but after sculpting a thousand bears, they didn’t start to look too bad.”
Rhodes said he is pretty sure his workmates didn’t appreciate the chainsaw noise at night, but “they all liked” his work. He gave away most of the carvings to the loggers but did sell a few.
The stay in Pemberton lasted about three years, after which Rhodes moved to Burk’s Falls with his partner, Emily. The move, about eight years ago, came with the goal of starting a tree service in the Almaguin Highlands. The couple now has two boys aged one and four.
“We were here only a couple of days and I did some carving to kill time,” recalled Rhodes.
“Before I was even done, someone driving by saw me carving, pulled into the driveway and I sold the piece before it was even finished. I thought that was great and decided to carve another piece. That one sold too.”
Rhodes realized he was on to something — he discarded the tree service idea and started on the path to becoming a professional chainsaw wood carver.
Rhodes estimates he’s carved about 5,000 pieces since turning pro. The sculptures are mostly wildlife and range in size from several inches to eight feet high.
His workspace is filled with mostly commissioned pieces in various stages of completion, including one eight-foot-tall sculpture that features a papa bear with three cubs and an owl that three siblings commissioned for their parents’ home — a piece that, due to its size, is actually three separate pieces glued together.
Depending on the size and complexity, a Rhodes-sculpted carving can take an hour to two weeks to complete. Again, depending on size and complexity, the price range for his work varies from $200 to several thousand.
Many of the smaller pieces are made from scrap wood left over from other projects. He normally uses eastern white pine “because it’s native to the area and is easy to work with.”
“It also stands up well to the elements,” Rhodes said.
Occasionally, a client will bring Rhodes a specific wood to carve.
Rhodes may be self-taught, but he also watches YouTube videos in addition to being on-site at competitions where he’s learning techniques from other chainsaw sculptors.
“It’s inspiring to see other styles, different tools and techniques,” by other people.
Rhodes says about 99 per cent of his sculptures are cut using chainsaws. He uses a chisel or Dremel for fine-tuning and clean-up work afterward, especially around an animal’s eyes.
His preference is to sculpt North American wildlife, but he occasionally ventures into the world of movie animation.
“That can be difficult,” he said. “You have to make it look like an actual character like Winnie the Pooh or Shrek, otherwise people will spot the differences right away.”
Two recent examples of his work are on display in Magnetawan — one of which is a traditional piece of an owl perched on a tree in the municipal office reception.
The other, however, is a break from Rhodes’ normal efforts: it’s a seven-foot replica of the steamship Wenonah, sitting on a wave in the Village Green.
See: Why is there a wooden Wenonah steamship in Magnetawan’s village green?
The Wenonah escorted passengers and shipped goods and mail back and forth from Burk’s Falls to Magnetawan on the Magnetawan River during the 1860s.
Almaguin Highlands residents can see Rhodes in full carving mode at area fairs and also on Family Day weekends in Magnetawan.
“Usually when I’m at these events, I do smaller pieces so people can see the transformation happen quickly,” he said. “This way it’s exciting for everyone watching.”
Rhodes has two major competitions next year — in addition to the U.S. Open Chainsaw Sculpture Championship in Wisconsin next August, he’ll be at the Chetwynd International Chainsaw Carving Championship in British Columbia in June for Canada’s biggest chainsaw wood sculpting championship.
Like its American counterpart, Chetwynd also attracts chainsaw wood carvers globally.
Rhodes took part in the B.C. competition last year and finished second in the freestyle category, but won the Carver’s Choice Award.
More information on Rhodes can be found on his website at northernrhodes.ca, or on his Facebook page, Northern Rhodes Artistry and Wood Carving.
Rocco Frangione is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter with Almaguin News. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
