GRAY — The Maine Wildlife Park will host two professional chainsaw artists from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 9.

Ron Carlson is a professional chainsaw carver from the town of China. He began woodcarving in the mid 1960s and enjoyed that hobby until the early 1990s, when a friend introduced him to the chainsaw. The speed and versatility of chainsaw cutting amazed him, and his lifelong hobby became his business in 1993.

Thousands of pieces later, he now specializes in carving bears. Carlson has carved almost every animal, abstracts and all sorts of strange custom requests: from airplanes, to the seven dwarfs, to giant gorillas on safari. He has shipped his art to a dozen countries worldwide. Carlson can be contacted directly at roncarlson@fairpoint.net.

Maine Custom Wood Sculpture chain saw artist Bill Fournier will demonstrate his techniques for creating eagles, hawks, bears, wolves, mountain lions and more from pieces of white and Norway pine, fir, cedar or spruce, using only a chain saw. The carved animals range in height from 2-3 feet, to up to 7 feet tall. Fournier is from the Auburn area, has been carving for nine years and started this popular art form as a hobby. He will have several pre-carved animals on display and for sale, and plans on carving a 4-5 foot tall standing bear for the demonstration.

Bring cameras and earplugs.

For more information, call the Maine Wildlife Park at 657-4977 or visit www.mainewildlifepark.com, www.mefishwildlife.com or on Facebook.

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