Kenton Hull of Preeceville has a unique talent of creating chainsaw animals and snowmen. Hull's passion for began at an early age with sketching drawings on paper.
"I picked up the art of using a chainsaw to carve and create animals out of wood five years ago," said Hull. “My first attempt was a bear that looked OK but definitely showed me that I needed to make some adjustments."
Hull uses spruce logs that are cut into 20-inch diameter sizes. He only uses spruce trees that have already fallen, which helps to recycle the trees. He uses a design pattern for the first cut then switches to free hand carving, shaping and etching to make his creation come to life. It takes Hull approximately eight hours from start to finish for a project. He uses special small tips on the chainsaw with all the features being created by Hull except the eyes for the animals which he orders online. Each project is painted or stained and oiled to help preserve the project.
Recently he has started creating carvings out of moose antlers. He uses special tools and spends hours creating “a perfect visual carving.” Along with chainsaw creations and carvings he has also crafted wooden snowmen families that have been a huge hit with many.
"I find the time I spend creating projects very relaxing and the way the projects turn out make me feel very proud of a job well done," he said. "Now with my big shop I can spend more time in the winter months creating my art," he said.
Throughout his five years of work he has created bears, owls and picnic tables. He has also done custom projects for community individuals. Hull recently purchased a band sawmill for cutting his own lumber into planks.
