Artists share talents during annual Tour of the Arts

SEELEY LAKE – In less than 30 minutes chainsaw artist Scott Thompson turned a five-foot pine log into a gnome sitting on a mushroom. His sense of humor added laughter and conversation to the demonstration as he shared his passion and knowledge of sculpting with a chain saw.

Thompson was one of 15 artists that shared their work in their studios, galleries and museums scattered throughout the Seeley-Swan and the Blackfoot Valleys for the Alpine Artisan's 18th annual Tour of the Arts Oct. 9 -10. There were other demonstrations given by wood carver Will Kats, fiber artist Patti Chamberlin and wooden bowl makers Martha and Jerry Swanson.

Prior to his Saturday demonstration at his Willow Creek Studio on Double Arrow Ranch, Thompson asked those in attendance if they wanted to know what he was carving ahead of starting or if they wanted to guess. The majority preferred to guess.

Thompson started by showing the types of chainsaws he uses and explaining their purpose. Thompson likes to carve four or five foot logs that he mounts to the ground so they don't move. He does most of his work around mid-waist to avoid bending.

"Anything to try and keep it balanced off the major carving muscle," Thompson joked holding his belly.

He starts with the rip saw. The chain is a skip-tooth allowing him to remove large pieces of wood from his mounted block. This reveals the general shape.

To keep the audience engaged he would pause and gift "custom cut" blocks of wood removed from the sculpture. He told the recipient we would be happy to sign them after the demonstration or they were welcome to add them to the fire.

When Thompson put the rip saw down, the guesses from the crowd included a mountain and crayon, neither of which were correct.

Thompson then traded between his small Poulan chainsaw and a dime tip carving saw to add the detail. He called the dime tip the "paint brush of chainsaw carving." As he "brushed" in the details, a face, arms and feet emerged. The audience guessed a little gnome with a pointed cap. He finished by making a mushroom seat for the gnome. He said he would use hand-carving tools to fine-tune the details and then paint the sculpture to finish it. He uses outdoor-grade house paint so it weathers better in the elements.

The gnome was carved out of pine but he works with all different species. He works with the idiosyncrasies of the wood once he starts carving. As an example, an owl he is working on had soft and punky wood around the face and claws limiting his ability to do a lot of detailed carving. In other sculptures he has also found ant and other bug galleries that he has had to work with or patch.

"I just kind of have to go with it," Thompson said.

On Highway 83 at Galley 83, Patti Chamberlin demonstrated her pine needle weaving. Chamberlin has been a fiber artist from more than 30 years. After first being introduced to basket weaving she fell in love with the craft and spent a couple of years learning and practicing the techniques. She quickly bored with traditional basketry and found herself exploring her own creativity and creating what she called "Contemporary Basketry" that was more expressive of her own individuality.

Chamberlin gets her inspiration from pictures she finds, but the outcome is always unique.

"It takes a lot of patience but you just get into another world when you are doing it," Chamberlin said. "I'm just doing one pine needle at a time and one stitch at a time."

She had just begun the base of her newest creation weaving long leaf pine needles from Florida. They were dyed and coated with glycerin to make them more pliable and shiny.

"The ponderosa pine needles are just too stubby for me," Chamberlin said.

Chamberlin also had several other of her pieces on display along with more than a dozen other artists within Gallery 83.

"There is just so much to see and so little time," said one of the ladies from a group of six women from Great Falls who came for the tour. "We are headed to the Swan and it is just beautiful."