Scott Winford of Greenwood uses a chain saw to carve a bear head out of a tree stump Thursday outside a residence along North Waldron Road in Fort Smith. Winford said he has been creating wood sculptures of bears, birds, other animals and human faces and hands since 1987. As a former salesman of chain saws, he used to hire professional carvers to demonstrate the abilities of the tools. When one of them failed to show up to an event, Winford tried his hand at the craft.
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Starting with an eagle head -- "I took it home and my wife said, 'You made a chicken!'" -- and then a mushroom -- "I'll never forget, a little kid looked at it and said, 'A mushroom? You messed up!'" -- Winford got better with practice, to the point he now has a side business called Arkansas Chainsaw Sculptures with a list of projects on his to-do list.
He said it only takes a day to complete most works, adding that there are lots of carvers out there but he is one of few who use tree stumps because of the pressure of not being able to scrap it if he needs to restart. "You can't mess up," Winford said. "You've got to make it work."
Anyone interested in hiring Winford can reach him at (479) 414-8175.
Scott Winford of Greenwood uses a chainsaw to carve a bear head out of a tree stump, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2023, outside a residence along North Waldron Road in Fort Smith. (River Valley Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)
Scott Winford of Greenwood uses chainsaws to carve a bear head out of a tree stump, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2023, outside a residence along North Waldron Road in Fort Smith. (River Valley Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)
Scott Winford of Greenwood steps down from a platform, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2023, while using chainsaws to carve a bear head out of a tree stump outside a residence along North Waldron Road in Fort Smith. (River Valley Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)