Above / Created by Naperville chainsaw sculptor Bill Baker last spring, this wooden hawk now basks in the summer sun enhanced by cone flowers and meadow sage.
Mid-morning on this glorious spring day, Jim Penick happened upon art taking shape along the public sidewalk on Sequoia Road. Bill Baker handed Penick a business card and this story got going.
Just before noon, we met up with Bill Baker, founder of Top Notch Chainsaw Carving in Naperville, standing by his motto, “Creativity and Pride,” as he used a chain saw and other power tools to shape a wooden stump from a birch tree into a large sculpture of a hawk.
For the past 20 years, Baker said he’s been carving free standing and on-site stump carvings of bears, eagles, owls, pumpkins and wood spirits, an art he learned from his grandfather.
He’s also proud to note that he’s carved unique items such as the name-sake memorial carving of Dorothy and Toto from Wizard of Oz, an 8-foot tall Bigfoot, 15-foot castles and a dragon bench. Sometimes he works from sketches. Other times he’s had clay models.
Some carvings, such as the hawk, can be completed in a few hours. Other designs take days.
“Are there many other samples of your sculptures in Naperville?” we asked.
“Not many,” Baker said, noting he travels far and wide to create his chainsaw carvings with pride at private homes, public parks and cemeteries.
“How do folks find you?” we continued.
“Mostly from online searches for ‘chainsaw carving,'” Baker added. “I also post my most current work on Facebook. Other carvings are on my website.”
Baker is open to carve any idea imaginable and he’s traveled throughout Illinois and beyond to carve all kinds of original ideas. Before inquiring with a phone call, he suggests that it’s helpful if you know type of tree, diameter size and height, and possible ideas.
“My goal is to give you a beautiful carving you will enjoy for years to come,” Baker said.
For everything you might want to know about Top Notch Chainsaw Carvings, visit www.topnotchcarving.com or call Baker at (630) 674-1999.
