Bob is a three time winner of the ECHO Carving Series Championship. He won the Championship in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and is a member of ECHO’s Chain Saw Carving Team. He is a professional carver and has been carving for almost ten years and works at his trade five to seven days a week depending on the weather. Bob lives in Edgewood, WA. His favorite wood is western red cedar and his favorite subject is realistic wildlife. He considers his best work to date the piece he carved at the 2008 ECHO Carving Series qualifying event in Chetwynd, British Columbia, Canada.

Originally from Indianapolis, Jason is a full-time carver now based out of his studio, Bear Hollow, in St. Croix, IN and a member of the ECHO Carving Team. He has been carving for about six years. Jason credits his wife Cindy, whose family operates a saw mill and lumber yard, as the inspiration to become a chain saw carver. Emmons enjoys the thrill of competition and the rush from hearing 30-40 chain saws roaring at the same time while at one. Emmons' most challenging carving project to date is also the one he's most proud of. "I carved a dog memorial for a customer in New York," he recalls. "The project took about 10 hours from start to finish. Because the dog had passed away, it was a very personal, emotional and sentimental project for the customer and so the pressure was really on."

Mark is also a member of ECHO’s Chain Saw Carving Team and has participated in every ECHO Carving Series Championship. He has been carving for 27 years and has been a professional chain saw carver since high school. He jokes that he has never filled out a job application. You could say chain saw carving runs in his blood. Mark’s father is a pro chain saw carver and was one of the pioneers in the trade. “I grew up with chain saw carving,” says Mark. “And I still learn a lot from my Dad.” Mark lives in Lakeport, CA. His favorite wood is redwood and his favorite subject is nautical, especially carving dolphins. He considers his best work to date three jumping dolphins, which won first place at a Washington competition in 2005.

Mike, an ECHO Carving Team member, does all his carving and finishing work on his driveway and in his garage at home in Marengo, IL, and considers chain saw carving a labor of love, not a job. Mike, who started out competing in snow sculpting competitions, was inspired to become a chain saw carver after seeing carvers at various county fairs. To Bihlmaier, carving is more of an art form than a skill and likens the craft more towards classical sculpture than traditional wood carving. Mike is the proud father of seven sons and hopes for one of them to follow in his footsteps as a carver. Mike asserts that he hasn’t carved his hardest piece yet, but one of his most challenging projects so far was 22-foot red-tailed hawk on a 3-sided pillar that he carved out of white oak for a country club.

The final sculptures are judged on pre-determined criteria by a panel of unbiased, local Albuquerque art critics and celebrities. Each piece is evaluated using a 1-7 point scale using five criteria including: Theme, Craftsmanship, and Design Impact. The public is given the opportunity to choose the “Peoples’ Choice” category.

This year’s judging panel includes:

• Maryann Weems - Lead judge, art critic, artist, long time Southwest art advocate and Weems Gallery owner.
• BC Nowlin - Award winning Southwest artist and art critic.
• Dan Mayfield - Assistant Art Critic for the Albuquerque Journal, artist and photographer.
• Bob Gerding - Southwest wildlife expert, host of New Mexico Outdoors wildlife show, and President of the Bob Gerding Outdoor Adventures Show.
• Ramona Vigil-Eastwood - President of the Contemporary Hispanic Market in Santa Fe, NM and award-winning artist.

ECHO uses a neutral pro-carver coach, Albuquerque carver Mark Chavez, owner of Sandia Bear Company, to train the judging panel typically not familiar with chain saw carving. Mark organizes the ECHO Chain Saw Carving Fiesta, a regional carving event with six pro carvers, which takes place at the Balloon Fiesta October 8th – 11th.

See the carving action, fun and excitement at the 2008 event held at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta®.
Watch Video

See the carving action, fun and excitement at the 2007 event held at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, IL.
Watch Video

See an overview of all the action and fun at the Great Outdoor Festival in Oshkosh, WI.
Watch Video

See the excitement at the inaugural ECHO Carving Series Championship in Louisville, KY.
Watch Video

Addison, PA - June 18 - 20, 2009

Chetwynd, BC, Canada - June 11 - 14, 2009

Reedsport, OR - June 18 - 21, 2009 - View Photos

Steve Stucker's Blog, October 7, 2009

KRQE, October 3, 2009

KRQE, October 2, 2009

Steve Stucker's Blog, October 1, 2009

Albuquerque Travel Examiner, September 10, 2009

ECHO Incorporated, August 27, 2009