– [Narrator] It takes a lot of talent to make great art out
of something like this. But as you'll soon learn, our world is home to
some phenomenal artists with astounding abilities to transform simple lumps of wood into glorious masterpieces. From the intricately-detailed to the downright colossal, let's check out the amazing things expert woodworkers carve out of huge logs. (light music) Number 20, Put Your Face On. If you're like me, when you think of sculptors, you imagine them sitting
with a chisel and mallet, quietly, carefully chipping away.
The mechanical roar of a chainsaw, on the other hand, probably doesn't come to mind. But for artist Joshua Blewett, a chainsaw is his
artistic weapon of choice. Blewett has been making wood carvings for over 20 years and has the skill to show for it. Take this video, for example, where he carves a wizard's face in only six minutes! (light music) Amazingly, Josh doesn't even
mark out any guidelines.
He just puts his chainsaw to the wood and starts creating. Clearly, Joshua's rapidly-carved wizard isn't the only one
capable of some sorcery! Number 19, The Longest Log. For most people, the remains of a 30-ton, 1,000-year-old camphor tree probably wouldn't inspire a burst of genius-level creativity. But when Chinese artist Zheng Chunhui sees gnarly, old trees, he sees the canvas for
his next masterpiece. Inspired by the famous scroll painting, Along the River During
the Qinming Festival, Chunhui's spectacular woodcarving celebrates the everyday
lives of his ancestors in unbelievably-intricate detail. The sculpture features trees, mountains, rivers,
boats, bridges, buildings and over 500 hand-carved people. The 40 foot long, 10 foot high beauty was, at the time of its completion in 2013, the world's largest woodcarving and was unveiled in
Beijing's Palace Museum. It took four years to complete, making it a long piece
in more ways than one, but the completed carving was certainly worth the wait. Number 18, Ibex Head. Some artists take years to hone their craft, while others seem to have beginner's luck.
YouTube artist RS1's sculpture of an alpine Ibex head may have taken him a few hours, but the results are remarkable. Given that it's his first attempt at a chainsaw-carving. Guided only by a simple sketch, the super-satisfying time-lapse video shows him carving away, layer by layer, eventually revealing the ibex as if it'd been lurking inside the log all along. (light music) Best of all, he leaves the top of the log attached, thoughtfully providing a sun-hat for the creature.
Functional fashion. Number 17, Beards Above. Artist John Melo takes woodworking talent to new heights in this clip from 2011, climbing up to carve the face of a bearded wood spirit into a giant tree-trunk. He uses a chainsaw to carve
out the major feature, (light music) then utilizes an angle grinder, chisel and mallet for the finer details. Finally, he uses a blowtorch to darken the wood, giving the carving even more character. I certainly wouldn't mind a welcoming, bearded tree-fellow in
my backyard, would you? Let me know in the comments below. Number 16, Mysterious Tree Sculptures. While some artists display their artworks loudly and proudly, others prefer to leave an air of mystery. In Knaresborough, England in 2012, an unknown carver began transforming tree trunks into art all over the town and
surrounding woodlands. It took several months before locals discovered the sculptures were made by award-winning sculptor Tommy Craggs, who decided against leaving signatures.
Craggs is devoted to bringing trees back to life and "revealing the real
beauty of the wood." And what can give you more life than this Yoda sculpture that looks a teensy bit like Nic Cage? Craggs' carvings span from storm-fallen trees turned-angels, to badger dens carved into the wood. There are certainly worse things to unexpectedly discover in the woods than a beautiful, mysterious
wood-carving or two. So hopefully Tommy continues surprising his community with these amazing carvings! Number 15, Wow Owl. On first glance, this owl looks like any other. But when you realize this is actually a wood sculpture, created by Earl Martz, it becomes extraordinary. Martz has more than 30 years' experience as a professional artist, some of which he spent studying engraving, sculpting and taxidermy. Which explains how accurate his wildlife sculptures are. He begins by carving a rough design into a hunk of wood, then uses precise paint strokes and polish to bring the impeccable details to life. He'd better be careful PETA doesn't see his work, because it's so realistic they might write him up for suspending animals in wood. Number 14, Giant Octopus. Self-taught American chainsaw artist Jeffrey Michael Samudosky has become internationally acclaimed in his two-decade-long career, and for good reason.
His magnum opus, this daunting giant octopus, was carved out of a
gnarled, dead redwood tree. Armed with a chainsaw and a full table of electric tools, he crafted the piece using the natural shape of the log to guide the placement
of the octopus's legs. For Samudosky, these types of carvings can take up to four years to perfect, which isn't surprising considering all the complex tentacles and hundreds of suckers his masterpiece features. If this piece ever ends up as driftwood, it's sure to cause beach-goers a few heart-attacks with
its intimidating realism. Number 13, Big Wheeler. If Bigfoot was a road-hog, this would be his motorbike. Indeed, Otiss Machines brings a whole new
meaning to green vehicles with this expertly-carved, gigantic wooden motorcycle. Thanks to the sheer size, creating something like
this is no easy feat. The collaborating artists sketch the guidelines
onto the wood initially, before cleaving off enormous chunks with chainsaws.
The detailed sections like the wheel treads require smaller tools and a huge amount of
patience to get right. They carve some of the pieces, like the seat, separately, before combining them into a completed piece so impressive, it looks ready to be taken out for a spin. Number 12, Dragon Man. English chainsaw carving
artist, Matthew Crabb, certainly knows how to
carve a dragon or two. His unique imagination breathes fiery life to his highly-sought-after carvings, for which he uses chainsaws and rotary chisels of varying sizes to carve the larger sections and smaller, toothy details. This particularly-impressive piece was carved from lime-wood, and the light-dark contrast was created by burning the wood. If you're looking for a new way to feel like a badass, just ask Crabb to fix
you up one of his chairs. (light music) Number 11, Inner Turmoil. While some woodworking
artworks are mystical, others are downright creepy. Sculptor Tung Ming-Chin
has a unique niche, he carves and polishes wood to create shapes of people and objects trapped inside. While his pieces aren't as enormous as other woodworking artists', it takes supreme skill to make wood look like fabric.
Ming-Chin calls this particular piece Inner Turmoil, where a face and hands look like they are trying to escape from within a pillowcase. My inner turmoil is deciding whether I'm impressed or terrified. Number 10, Sky Horse. Miguel Perez was not horsing around when he created this piece. Created using a chainsaw, with paints and burning for colorization in a unique style that brings impressionist painting to mind, Perez's drinking horse is perfectly balanced and surprisingly realistic. Although, I can't help wondering, is that horse's body invisible or is this supposed to be a scene from the Godfather? Number nine, Woodland Angels. Ed Elliott is a hugely-talented artist from Herefordshire, England who applies his expertise in Fine Art to the medium of wood-sculpting. His extensive training shines through in the phenomenal smoothness of his majestic pieces, (light music) crafted from ordinary tree stumps that take his fancy. Almost looking like they're
carved out of limestone, his eagle-winged angels stand out as some of the greatest artworks chainsaws and power-tools have ever created.
(light music) Number eight, Buckets of Artistry. Romanian artist Gabi Rizea is well-known in his country for his wood-carving skills. So much so, that the
authorities in Cravoia allow him to carve old
tree stumps in local park. A privilege Rizea
certainly puts to good use. This piece, called Apa, which is Romanian for water, was challenging since insects were already eating away at the almost-rotten stump, found at a children's park. But a few bugs and a little rot proved to be no match for Rizea's skills and chainsaw.
After making an outline with the chainsaw and cutting out badly-damaged sections, layer after layer was hewn away, gradually increasing the definition of the piece. After some final polishing, Rizea had created the incredibly smooth illusion of a bucket pouring water. What better way to remind
children to stay hydrated? Number seven, Woodenwear. If you're looking for one-of-a-kind items to add to your wardrobe, look no further than the
work of Fraser Smith.
Smith makes much more than a fashion statement with his astounding creations, which are, despite
appearances, made from wood. Smith has been carving for over 50 years, and experience has clearly made him a master of deception. He carves each piece from single blocks of basswood, before staining them with watercolors and oil-based pigments. He's made everything
from quilts to jackets and even baseball caps. So, if you're tired of your siblings borrowing your clothes without asking, stick a few of Smith's
pieces in your closet. The splinters are sure to keep them away. Number six, Lion Giant. When sculptor Dengding Rui Yao decided to create something from an enormous redwood tree trunk, it had to be suitably epic. So, he naturally thought of the mighty king of the jungle. Rui Yao led a team of 20
people over three years, finally completing the piece, titled Oriental Lion, in 2015.
It measures almost 50 feet
long and 16 feet high, ranking it among the world's largest, and certainly mightiest,
redwood sculptures. You can almost hear the roar. The mighty lion now rests in Wuhan, China where it's featured at
Fortune Plaza Times Square. Number five, Minor Details. This team of Chinese sculptors toiled for months carving the seemingly-endless details of this amazing piece which surfaced on TikTok in 2018. The incredibly-long log's sculptors can be seen employing expert precision with small rotary chisels crafting tiny, incredibly-detailed scenes, both upon and inside the log. Following in the footsteps of artists like Zheng Chunhui, the piece takes the intricacy of ancient Chinese scroll-paintings and brings them into the third dimension. Number four, APF 2018. What happens when you bring a bunch of talented wood-sculptors together to compete? A carve-o-copia of
astounding artwork emerges! From wood-women to Teddy Roosevelt with a jet pack, the woodworking competition at the UK's annual APF Exhibition, which is an entire festival essentially devoted to trees, has it all.
Best of all the entries in 2018 was this incredible infinity knot, seamlessly, painstakingly carved from a single log. The single, winding, wooden cylinder is hard enough to look at without feeling baffled, let alone carve! Number three, The Kauri Museum. If a handful of carvings aren't quite enough for you, you may want to pay a visit to The Kauri Museum in New Zealand. The museum is entirely devoted to one of the world's largest tree species, the kauri, and is filled from top-to-bottom with intriguing pieces carved from ancient kauri wood. The vast collection
includes furniture, bowls and recreated set-pieces that tell the story of the
early European settlers in New Zealand's dependence
on the tree species. Most impressive of all, though, are the huge Kauri logs that dot the museum in various forms, which are undoubtedly a
chainsaw carver's fantasy.
Number two, The Mane Man. Combining unusual textures and colors, Danny Ham isn't afraid to break the mold when it comes to wood-carving. But his experimental edge is best summed up in his incredible lion head
log carving from 2017. It flawlessly incorporates the dead tree's bare branches into a mane that would make even a real lion jealous. Danny rarely begins a piece with a plan in mind, but instead puts a few cuts into the wood to see if it sparks an idea. He makes it sound so simple, but it takes some serious skill to carve out detailed features with a hefty chainsaw. Finishing up with some
careful wood-burning, then a coat of paint and varnish, his lion ends up being a little scarier than I'd like to admit. Number one, Groot. The specialized sculptures of Ken Braun, which usually depict
popular movie characters, are on another level. He's carved characters like Davy Jones from "Pirates
of the Caribbean," Caesar from "The Planet
of the Apes" reboot and Blue, a velociraptor
from "Jurassic World." But the sculptures that top the rest are his depictions of Groot from "The Guardians of the Galaxy." It certainly makes sense to make an alien tree-creature out of a tree-trunk and Braun's real-life, full-scale homages bring the character to life in the best way imaginable.
All I can say is, "I am Groot." Which translates to, "Wow, amazing!" Which one of these amazing
woodworking creations left you stumped as to how they did it? Let me know in the comments section below. Thanks for watching!.