Carving his niche

WASILLA — As a youngster, Jamie Rothenbuhler didn’t dream of being a chain saw artist when he grew up. Like many who have found their life’s calling, it just happened.

His chain saw whines loudly as Rothenbuhler rips into white spruce as if it were butter, making cuts and incisions with his Husqvarna into the soft wood with speed and precision, resulting in a realistic, yet cartoonish, work of art.

Rothenbuhler was living in Fairbanks in 1988, helping his parents run the Knotty Shop gift store. His father, who was handy with a chain saw, designed and built a variety of chairs, tables and other furniture, making sure his son picked up some of the tricks of the trade. Eventually, Rothenbuhler did more than just practice what was preached.

One December day, wondering if he could make other items besides furniture, he began sketching out a Santa Claus face he envisioned in his mind. Before he knew it, he had buzzed himself a replica. What turned out to be a little invested curiosity, and a lot of fun, had Rothenbuhler’s wheels turning, wondering what else he could create.

“I just kind of jumped into this,” Rothenbuhler said outside his workshop off the Parks Highway on the outskirts of Wasilla. Near his trailer lie a few broken, unfinished and leftover pieces that haven’t made their way off the lot; some never will. “I experimented carving a bit more on the old log cabin I had built with these wavy lines and smiley faces on some of the logs. It just popped out of me then, and here I am.”

In 2000, Rothenbuhler was working in construction full time, but on spent his free time creating a 3.5-foot lawn Santa for his stepmother. Once it was completed, he began and finished another little Santa. He placed the large smiling Santa out on his lawn, went inside to start a pot of coffee, and before he could open the door to step back outside a woman was on his porch inquiring about the price tag for his jovial St. Nick.

“I knew I was onto something,” Rothenbuhler said. “I sold 10 more that winter, but also knew I couldn’t sell Santas year-round, and so that’s when I experimented with the bears.”

One after another, Rothenbuhler chain-sawed bears in motion and stationary bears out of spruce and cottonwood, adding life-like details: artificial eyes — purchased from a local taxidermist — curly hair and smiling mouths, and giving each its own personality.

The bears were a hit and Rothenbukhler began to realize he could make a living carving them. He likes bears because they have interesting characteristics, are fairly simple to carve and are highly sought after from locals and out-of-state people looking for unique Alaska art.

Rothenbuhler begins each bear at his workshop from a mental blueprint, meaning no sketching is required. First, he carefully carves, stabs, nicks and then smoothes the animal’s shape out with his chain saw. Most of his wood starts off moist and in top condition, bearing no deep grooves, knots or other blemishes. White spruce is typically obtained from the Tanana River area in Fairbanks.

Next, a noticeable 1-inch groove is cut along the backside to prevent cracking in other places, a technique most people are curious about, Rothenbuhler said. The freshly cut figure is then dried, fire-torched and then torched again to give the illusion of shadowing and texturing. An assistant helps with this process, along with staining and the final details.

“There’s something about the chain saw-carved bears people from Outside wanted,” he said. “They asked for them, and so I made ‘em up.”

Rothenbuhler has sold hundreds of pieces, mainly by word of mouth, a booth set up at the Alaska State Fair and commissions at three Alaska retail outlets: Two stores in Fairbanks and Denali and one shop in Anchorage, The Lone Moose in the Dimond Center.

Rothensbuhler’s work has become popular enough that seven years ago he took the plunge and quit his job, a move that almost proved a bad one from the start.

“One of the first bears I had made I kept for four years,” he said. “It’s hideous. I hold onto it because I want to be reminded of what it was like there in the beginning when I was struggling to pay the bills and keep food on the table. I had to jump in, but had a back-up job just in case things got tight.”

Rothenbuhler said he hasn’t found that much that doesn’t work when it comes to subject matter. With the help of some pictures from his taxidermy books, he has also carved salmon sculptures, murals, moose, fireplace mantels, dragons, elaborate park benches, ferrets and a variety of other sordid wildlife pieces.

Rothenbuhler said he can make just about anything, with each piece priced based on the size and time spent on making it.

Recently, a doctor’s office inside the Mat-Su Medical Plaza commissioned Rothenbuhler to complete a 16.5-foot-long carving that blooms with activity: A moose, bear, eagle, fish roam amongst the streams, mountains and landscape that is purely Alaska. It was Rothenbuhler’s first big request, taking him two months to complete. The doctor’s office was pleased, and it is hanging there today in suite 499. It’s something Rothenbuhler said he would do again, with caution.

“I benefited from that project because it made me fine tune my custom work requirements for the most part,” he said. “I like sticking to the old reliable.”

This holiday, Rothenbuhler said he and his assistant have their hands full with bears, moose and other things Alaska, and will be busy through the beginning of the new year, but he is always looking to brighten up anyone’s day with one of his wooden creations.

“Cute sells, let’s face it,” Rothenbuhler said. “It’s kind of cool that my free-time hobby is also my full-time work. I love getting to put my stuff out there and seeing people walk away with a lifetime investment as well.”

Jamie Rothenbuhler’s chain saw art is available by calling 892-6069.