SILVER FALLS, MB — With sharp speed and powerful precision, Jim Niedermayer is carving out a niche.
The 57-year-old crosses the country to carve competitively with a chainsaw.
“I think you get sawdust in your veins,” said Niedermayer. “You train yourself to see 3D in wood.”
The Silver Falls resident started out by chiseling chairs in the 1970s. He eventually branched out to art.
“I was think of myself as a desculpturer,” said Niedermayer. “A sculpturer is taking clay and adding it on. I’m taking it off.”
Each piece is as physically demanding as it is mentally. Niedermayer only has a few minutes at the beginning of each competition to figure out what he will sculpt.
“Most events now, you draw for the wood,” said Niedermayer. “You don’t know what kind of wood you’re going to get or what size.”
Niedermayer is considered one of Manitoba’s top chainsaw carvers. He’s climbed as high as the national championships.
“You’re always competing with yourself,” said Niedermayer. “The next piece, I’m going to change this. You’re always learning.”
Niedermayer will participate in the second annual Chainsaw Carving Challenge this weekend at Powerview-Pine Falls’ 4P Festival. Competing alongside Niedermayer will be HGTV’s Carver Kings. The two-day event includes a pro-am and a live auction on Sunday.
“Not only do we have a first, second and third prize but 50 per cent of each auction price goes back to every single carver,” said organizer Tim Chartier. “Even the last place carver walks away with something.”