~by Brian Blair
As folks stop to watch local chainsaw artist Chris Trotter work at his corner of Nashville’s Antique Alley behind the Brown County Playhouse, they might think his Wooden Wonders are “tree-mendous”— carved from white oaks, pines, sassafras—you name it. They might even describe them as studies in “Stihl life,” courtesy of the saw slicing the hunks of wood into shape as eagles, owls, Native American chieftains, or wizards.
He’s even recently carved a likeness of Indiana
University football coach Curt Cignetti. Chris describes his work as “intense.” He bears the scars—a four-inch gash on his left forearm and a smaller gash on his left quadricep—as a testimony to the focused, spinning anger of tools that sometimes lurch out of control.
The result of all the intensity could sell for a few hundred up to a few thousand dollars.
His highest-priced work, a 30-foot totem pole, sold for $20,000 and a rearing horse brought $6,000— rewards earned from both experience and hard work.
“There is definitely a learning curve with this,” said the 51-year-old Nashville resident who first began whittling knife carvings for relatives at age 25. “This is like playing the guitar. You’ve got to work and work to be good at it.”
His carpentry experience in home building—from crafting crown molding to constructing stairways— gave him a strong foundation for shaping wood. As the housing market plunged, his adapted skills were poised to take off in a different direction.
For commissioned pieces, often carved on a buyer’s property, he begins by studying a photograph. Before
the wood chips and sawdust begin to fly, he sets aside the photograph and begins with the image fixed in his mind. Ear protection shields him from the chainsaw’s whine while his headphones provide a creative soundtrack. On a recent afternoon it was the Oak Ridge Boys on Pandora. “I try to stay pretty grounded,” Trotter said. When Trotter began chainsaw carving about 15 years ago, crowds of up to 50 people would sometimes gather to watch him work. Reserved then, he now greets admirers with an easy warmth—as he did when Columbus resident Leo Pena, a fan for a decade, approached him for their first meeting.
“I really like his creativity,” Pena said, referring partly to the whimsy that he frequently sees in the details. “It’s not like what you find in other places…. And I’m definitely going to keep up with his progress.”
Trotter plans to continue to spend most Fridays through Sundays at his business in Antique Alley with partner Amanda Reeves.
“We’ve got a real gem here in Nashville,” Trotter said, praising the beer garden, live music, and more, right next to his shop. “We’ve just got to continue to polish it.”
Mondays through Thursdays you might find him on scaffolding 20 feet high, slicing and dicing trees on people’s property, earning up to $200 per hour.
His back sometimes begs for his attention after all his standing, reaching, and vibrating. Yet, he can see himself continuing his craft for years to come. Going to the YMCA three times weekly and hanging on the inversion table keeps him straight and true.
“At some point, I can probably even sit down and do this,” he said. “I would just have to keep everything right in front of me.”
He has been forced to discard pieces after hours of work when he discovers the wood to be rotten in the middle.
“By then, you can’t waste any more time on it,” he said.
For now, he has time for one question more: What are his creations such as a nearly finished fox saying to those who look upon them? Trotter smiles. “I believe,” he responded, “that they are saying: ‘Please come buy me.’ ”
Chris Trotter can be reached at 317-384-4091. His business Wooden Wonders is at 63 S. Jefferson St.in Antique Alley. Follow Wooden Wonders on Facebook.