THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD BRINGS BLAIR SMITH BACK HOME TO THE PLYMOUTH COUNTY FAIR

By Bob Fitch

Inside of every old log is a piece of art waiting to be discovered. All that’s required is a little imagination and a whole lot of skill with a chain saw.

Blair Smith of Westfield has been discovering the art inside the trees for more than 20 years. In the 1990s, Blair and his wife, Robin, spent a lot of time at the Plymouth County Fair when their daughter, Mylee, was showing lambs in 4-H. Blair became fascinated watching A.J. Lutter, a chainsaw artist from Brainerd, Minnesota, who did carvings at the fair for many years. “He was one of the best chainsaw artists in the world. I’d watch him for hours. He became a person I always looked up to.”

When Blair wasn’t working at his long-time job as a transport driver for Wells Incorporated, he started playing around with chainsaw art and created his company, B&R Chainsaw Sculptures. “I did some small carvings like pumpkins or watermelon for my wife; and spent more time at it after Mylee got out of 4-H. Growing up on a farm, I was very handy, plus I’m creative like my mom (who wrote and published romance novels). One day the UPS guy bought a bear from me –and the rest is kind of history. I figured I could make some money.” In addition to hauling raw milk from dairies for Wells, he also helps on his brother Blane’s farm, especially in the fall.

“If I wasn’t working, I was gone carving. Like A.J. Lutter told me one time, ‘If you’re laying awake at night thinking about it, then you know that’s what you’re meant to be doing. You’re always dreaming about what you can do next.’ My mind goes all over, but that's okay.” At first, he was selling a few pieces here and there, but around 2004 he was invited by Stihl chainsaw representatives from Vermillion and Sioux Falls to do carving demonstrations at places such as Cabela’s. As word started to get out, he was approached by the Woodbury County Fair to provide his “Crowd Shock'n, Wood Rock'n, Show Stopp'n, High Powered, High Performance Chainsaw Art,” essentially becoming part of the fair’s entertainment package. The four carvings done each day were then put on auction to benefit the fair. He’s been going to the Woodbury County Fair now for 15 years.

Welcome to the Smith home never Westfield. Blair was in one of the last graduating classes from Westfield High School. His wife, Robin, is originally from Hawarden.

A sample of carvings by Blair Smith. High school and college mascots are always popular at auctions held at county fairs and charity auctions. His carvings at fairs are done in as little as 30 minutes.

HAVE CHAINSAW, WILL TRAVEL

He hired a talent agent who started booking B&R Chainsaw Sculptures at fairs, festivals, town celebrations, and art in the park events all over Nebraska, Missouri and Kansas. “People just loved me. I had more fun at those places because they'd never seen chainsaw art. I adapted my work to where I was at. If I was in the western part of the country, I’d do horses, cow-calf pairs or bears crawling out of a cowboy boot waving a hat,” he said.

“The first few years we had an old black pickup and we pulled an old pickup box trailer behind it. I drove that all over the Midwest trying to sell stuff. It’s funny now, but back then it was embarrassing enough that my daughter wouldn't go with us. That's the truth,” said Blair.

Blair and Robin gave up camping and instead put in their own backyard oasis paradise which includes some of his carvings.

Robin said her husband’s outgoing personality adds to the show. “A lot of chainsaw artists don’t talk. If you’re in the audience and you want to know anything, you’re out of luck because many carvers won’t interact with you. Blair has always had the gift of gab,” she said. According to Blair, “I never claimed to be the best chainsaw carver in the world. I never will be. But I am probably one of the most entertaining carvers you’ll see.”

Blair said it can be taxing to crank out four carvings a day in 30 or 45 minutes in the summer heat. He’s glad neighbor Scott Toben is part of the team now. About a decade ago, Scott was just 13, but had an interest in carving and started going on the road with Blair. “Now we each do two carvings in a day. It’s been fun getting him involved. He’s more or less taken over some of the big shows. He’s very quiet, but he’s becoming more outgoing.”

When working at fairs and festivals together, they bill themselves as Northwest Iowa Extreme Chainsaw Artists. Besides chainsaw art and helping on the family farm, Scott’s full-time job is operating Scott’s Treeworks, LLC. The company’s services include tree removal, tree trimming, stump grinding, sawmilling and chainsaw carving.

In recent years, Blair has tried to cut down on the miles and do more shows locally, such as fairs in Osceola and Woodbury counties and the Dane Hansen Art in the Park celebration in Logan, Kansas. A couple years after his idol, A.J. Lutter, retired, he finally had a chance to come home and be the resident chainsaw artist at the fair where he grew up. “I always tell people around here that I had to drive half a million miles first before I could drive the 20 miles to Le Mars. When we were kids, the Plymouth County Fair was the biggest part of the summer. Both Scott and I are Plymouth County farm kids, so it’s fun to carve for the hometown crowd.” Their carvings are very popular on the fair auction, helping to raise thousands of dollars for improvements to the fairgrounds. Over the years, he’s also donated many carvings to help raise funds for nonprofit organizations.

During the Plymouth County Fair, the Northwest Iowa Extreme Chainsaw Artists show can be found on the southwest corner of the fairgrounds from 2 p.m. until dark, Thursday through Saturday, July 2527. The show focuses on interaction with kids at 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Then on Sunday, July 28, the show runs from noon-3 p.m. with the auction following at 4 p.m. in Pioneer Village.

‘JUST BE YOURSELF’

For 28 consecutive years, Blair never had a sick day at Wells.

However, he was working on Easter Sunday four years ago when he couldn’t get a pin to release when he was unhooking his trailer. He gave it a jerk and tore the muscles on the top of his shoulder. But the torn muscles were the least of his problems. The MRI on his shoulder discovered cancer in his lymph nodes.

His friend, Lynn Anderson from Fort Dodge, helped Scott fill in Blair’s commitments for carving events during summer 2020. Six months of treatment for the low grade follicular lymphoma stage four cancer were followed by two years of maintenance chemo. Last September, doctors said he was in remission. Blair is “coming back pretty strong,” but the follow-up scans are always nerve-wracking. To paraphrase the old Toby Keith song: “He’s not as good as he was once, but he’s as good once as he ever was.”

Scott Toben, Blane Smith, Tayven Smith and Blair Smith.

While he’s traveling fewer miles and doing fewer carvings, Blair still enjoys finding what’s hidden inside the wood. Now his grandson, Tayven Smith, 16, has discovered an interest in chainsaw carving. “He’s been traveling with me and performing in some of my shows.”

Blair gives his grandson the same advice he gives to the young people who attend his shows at the fair – every carving that appears from the a block of wood isn’t perfect, but every carving is a work of art. “Being the best in the world isn’t your ultimate goal. No matter what it is, whether it's reading, writing or riding your bicycle, be good at what you do and be proud of it. You don’t have to be just like your neighbor, you’ve just got to be yourself.”