Eau Claire hosts US Open Chainsaw Sculpture Championship

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - Artists from countries as far away as Japan and Australia are in Eau Claire this week to show how they can turn a piece of wood into a masterpiece.

This weekend, the US Open Chainsaw Sculpture Championship is at Carson Park where individuals are able to compete for the title of world champion.

“This is the only place that we’ve seen, really, that has this caliber of talent and this many that are coming through,” Benny Anderson, with Visit Eau Claire, said. “You get four days of literally nonstop chainsaw carving.”

Competing artists began working on their pieces August 11 and will be finished on August 14. There are also other artists creating smaller pieces throughout the day.

“It’s cool because it’s taking a natural, medium and turning it into just beautiful masterpieces, and everybody here is really friendly and willing to share tips and techniques,” Lisa Doeren, chainsaw artist, said.

The theme for this year’s competition is Wisconsin Wildlife. Money raised at the championship will help support one of the museum’s at Carson Park.

“This fundraiser goes to fund the operations for the Wisconsin Logger Museum. This event basically covers one year of operation,” Anderson said. “So, it really does great things for them. It’s a big part of not only Wisconsin’s heritage, but especially of Eau Claire with this town starting out basically around logging.”

Visitors said they are in awe of what these artists are able to create.

“I’m just always amazed by how they can just take that log, and, I mean, a lot of them actually cut it apart and they glue it back together in all kinds of different shapes, and it’s just amazing what they can do,” Doeren said.

Anderson said Eau Claire will continue to host the US Open Chainsaw Sculpture Championship every other year. The event ends August 14 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Carson Park.

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