Chainsaw Virtuosos: A dozen carvers help raise funds for youth groups

Jun. 13—A chorus of chainsaws rose from the fairgrounds in Ronan last weekend as a dozen carvers transformed logs into a veritable zoo of feathered and furred friends. Bears of all shapes and sizes cavorted among mountain lions, foxes, otters, owls, eagles, blue herons, horses and giant Sasquatches. There was even a tribute to the late country music star Toby Keith, who died last February, by an Oregon carver who calls himself Thor from Earth.

The fifth annual Mission Valley Chainsaw Carving Rendezvous raises funds for local youth groups while providing a unique opportunity for visitors to see artists at work with their noisy assortment of saws.

Last year's winner, Fernando Dulnuan of Oklahoma and the Philippines, had a dozen saws of varying sizes and horsepower. His main piece, destined for Sunday's auction, was titled Guardians of the Wilderness. The totem-like sculpture was carved on all sides with the head of an indigenous man, a mountain lion, a bear, an antler and an owl.

Dulnuan selected "one of the best, the biggest" logs from the stack for his carving "just to get more wiggle room."

The piece of wood he chooses helps shape the sculpture. "You can't contradict the wood when you're carving," he says. "So you have to go around, dance with it. I mean, you have the carvings in mind, but you don't necessarily know where to put them."

Dulnuan is a full-blooded Igorot, a native tribe of the Philippines, and says many of his people were accomplished carvers. He started carving in his home state of Oklahoma 11 years ago because "I hate a nine-to-five job."

Self-taught, he began by building rustic furniture, and eventually began to wield a saw. "I don't even know how to start a chainsaw," he says. "But I love wood, so I was hooked when I saw one on TV."

Events like Ronan's rendezvous not only "help pay my bills," but also give him an opportunity to learn from more experienced carvers. "That's why I do competitions, not to expect to win, but to come here to learn from them.

"I take every suggestion," he adds. "But sometimes I can't see what they can see. You have to be open."

Ken Braun Jr. of Montrose, Colo., was coated in sawdust — or what he calls "carver glitter."

He began carving three decades ago out of boredom. "I'd whittle something out of wood and set it on my front porch and somebody would see it, ask about it, and I'd end up selling it," he recalls. "So 30 years later, here I am."

He was carving the bust of a Native American chief, and an eagle, wings outspread.

"I wanted to capture the spirit of this area — freedom with the Eagle and Native pride. Pride for the people that lived here a long time ago. And still live here," he said.

Bigfork carver Todd Coats has a lengthy list of admirers waiting for one of his bear carvings. "The fact that somebody could score one of his carvings at an auction is amazing," said Val Clark, who organizes a similar event in Lincoln in July, and helps out at Ronan's rendezvous too. His sculptures took top honors in the 2021 event, as well as the People's Choice Award.

Coats was working on a tall sculpture of a mother bear with three cubs below her.

"Everybody wants a bear," he says, so he keeps sculpting them. But someday, he hopes to have more time to craft sculptures "that are just mine. ... Something I don't have to get paid for."

Several women also competed in this year's event including two from Montana, one from Washington and another from Canada.

Participating sculptors split proceeds 50-50 from daily 90-minute "quick carves," and from larger works they complete in three days. The carvers are housed and fed by members of the community.

According to Ronna Walchuk, who organized this year's event with co-conspirators Susan Lake and Adele Vincent, proceeds will go to various local youth groups. During its first four years, the rendezvous was held under the auspices of the Ronan Chamber, but it now has its own nonprofit status and an aspiration "to enrich the lives of our community," Walchuk said, with different beneficiaries selected each year.

Youth groups help out as well, including the FFA, Ronan Wrestling Club and the Girls Basketball Club.

Denny Henson of Sandpoint, who carved an elegant pair of entwined Great Blue Herons, took top honors in this year's contest.