Chain saw artists Competes Today

Northwest Herald
By PETER KROWIAK
April 29, 2005

MARENGO - Sitting in his kitchen and covered in small wood shavings, Mike Bihlmaier reflected upon what inspires him.

"Pretty much just things I like, you know, something different," Bihlmaier said. "I don't always carve the same thing, and I try to keep my poses and things like that a little different."

Bihlmaier, a 42-year-old Marengo resident, will take part in a chain saw carving competition in Lake Zurich todayas part of the five-member Echo Carving Team.

Bihlmaier began his carving career six years ago, when he was invited to be part of a snow-carving team, which eventually led him to wood sculpting.

"I did a few practice pieces out in front of the house," Bihlmaier said. "People stopped and took pictures, and a few of them stopped and asked if I could carve trees."

Despite Bihlmaier's full-time job as a machinist, he still finds the time to practice his craft.

"I get off work, come home, go to sleep, and get up as early as I can and work on carving," Bihlmaier said.

Unlike marble and other stones, sculpting with wood offers different problems for the carver.

"Well, you remove the things that don't belong," Bihlmaier said. "The wood is a little different than probably marble, and obviously clay, in that you are kind of governed by wood grain, flow of the grain, and then things that you find inside of the tree."

Despite using a chain saw to shape the wood, Bihlmaier said, he is not worried about getting hurt while carving.

"The only cut I ever got from a chain saw was when I was putting them away one night," Bihlmaier said, acknowledging that he constantly has to be aware of safety.

Bihlmaier laughed when the discussion turned to how his wife and seven sons felt about his artistic pursuits.

"Aside from the wood chips in the house, my wife likes it," he said.

Contestants for today's competition were chosen from among the top wood carvers in the country, said Barbara Gora, an Echo spokeswoman.

One competitor has been commissioned to carve a car for a cable-TV show, she said.

Lake Zurich Mayor Jim Krischke will judge the entries. The winning sculpture will be raffled in June, and the others will be auctioned to Echo staff and their families.

Proceeds from raffle and auction will benefit Relay for Life, a cancer charity, Gora said.