Artist of the Week: Rich Anderson, Master Chainsaw Wood Carver

As the new staff of the recently reopened were working to renovate the property this past spring, they noticed that an unwieldy maple tree right next to the swimming pool was dead and needed to be cut.

But instead of cutting it down, the managers called chainsaw wood carving artist Rich Anderson to use his chainsaw to carve it into a sculpture.

Though Anderson has been carving for almost two decades, he’d never tried a mermaid before.

“But this is Long Island,” he said. “We’re surrounded by water and I didn’t want to do another bear or eagle. I think a mermaid fit well here by the swimming pool.”

Anderson, 52, is a native of Poughkeepsie and has lived for years with his wife, Lauraine, and his 16-year-old son, Peter, in Wading River. With several degrees in fine arts, Anderson has taught up to the college level but currently teaches art to kids pre-K to fifth grade in the .

But his long-time chainsaw carving hobby has morphed into a business. His sculptures can be seen all over Long Island, New York State and as far away as Colorado. He not only shapes standing trees but make smaller pieces like ears of corn — something he’s doing now for a sign for Youngs Farm in Riverhead.

“It’s a fairly new art movement, something I first heard of about 25 years ago upstate,” he said. “It’s become more refined, definitely moving away from just bears and eagles.”

Anderson does make money in wood carving, but he says he’s “not a very good businessman.”

“I could have charged $2,000 for this mermaid, but I only charged $700,” he said. “Hey, it paid for work on my motorcycle, and my wife and I got to stay here while I worked on it. The nicest thing about this line of work is how many friends you make. Your clients almost always become your friends.”

Anderson said he does all of the carving on pieces with one tool — a standard over-the-counter $400 chainsaw, even the detail work. 

“If you get good enough with the chainsaw, it will replace all your chisels,” he said.

Another appeal about chainsaw wood carving is that it is, essentially, recycling.

“I talk about that with my fifth-graders, that artists were the first recyclers before the term was even used,” he said. “We’re making something useful and beautiful out of left-over material.”

Summertime is always the busiest time for Anderson, and he says that he promotes his wood carving business by word of mouth only — he doesn’t have a website or even carry a cell phone. Upcoming projects for him include sculpting a great blue heron and two giant cobras for a mechanic in Wading River.

And though retirement from teaching will soon be an option, Anderson said he can’t see himself leaving the classroom yet.

“I love teaching,” he said. “And this sort of art form is very physically taxing. We’ll see how long we can hold out physically during the next few years.”