6 minute read
Getting Lost in the Wood
Chainsaw Artist Steve Tresvik
by Mimi Greenwood Knight
STEVE TRESVIK IS A TRAFFIC HAZARD. If you’ve been driving down Highway 25 in Covington and found yourself whipping around to see one of his towering chainsaw carvings, you know what I mean. Any thought of the road or cars ahead is gone, as you flash past a family of black bears scampering around a tree trunk or a ten-foot alligator captured in mid-dive. After engaging in some precarious rubbernecking myself, I decided it was time for a closer look before I initiated a nine-car pile-up.
What I found when I finally stopped was Steve Tresvik, a soft-spoken New York transplant who remains modest about his work, despite an outpouring of praise from his new northshore neighbors. I found an interesting back story, too. Tresvik started life in Rifton, New York, a rural hamlet of a few hundred souls. As one of four sons of a stay-at-home mom and a dad he says was a “jack of all trades,” he spent his early years exploring the woods with his brothers and developing a love of nature.
Tresvik entered the U.S. Navy toward the end of the Vietnam War with the dream of becoming a Navy Seal. As fate would have it though, a medical condition precluded that dream and changed the trajectory of his life. Tresvik was assigned instead to kitchen duty, where he discovered a talent for cooking. After four years in the Navy, he enrolled in the prestigious Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park, New York, and, over the next 40 years, happily worked as a chef for Hyatt Hotels in 13 major U.S. cities. During stints in locales from Los Angeles to Tampa and Seattle to New Orleans, he developed a knack for carving showstopping ice sculptures for special events. As his cooking and his ice sculpture skills sharpened, he was called upon to cater VIP events for Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and the Ambassador of Japan. He served dinners in the East Room of the White House and the Nixon Library—and even catered Richard Nixon’s funeral, with five living U.S. presidents in attendance.
“I catered too many grand openings and VIP events to remember, including six Super Bowls,” says Tresvik. “I started carving ice sculptures with a simple fiveprong chipper. It was grueling work, and, by the time I finished, my hands would be bloody. At one point, I worked with a professional chainsaw artist from Japan, who taught me and guided me in buying professional ice sculpting tools.” Steve’s sculptures became even more elaborate with angels and mermaids, towering mountain scenes with deer and tigers, seahorses with champagne spouting from their mouths and anything else the occasion required.
But it wasn’t until he retired that he was able to turn the skills he’d been honing toward chainsaw carving in wood. He says, “My passion for carving was in hibernation for about 15 years as work got in my way. But since retiring, I’ve rekindled my love for carving in wood.” There’s no doubt who Tresvik considers his muse. It’s his wife, Maria. Even after decades of marriage, his face still lights up when he talks about her. “She’s my rock,” he says.
He started carving in wood—how else?—by watching videos on YouTube and soon found mentors among the amateur and celebrity carvers. “For the past year, I immersed myself on the internet, studying everything I could find about wood carving. I purchased all the tools I needed, and I continue to study and practice. Once you start carving the wood, time flies by. You get lost in the work. And no matter how much you know, there’s always more to learn.”
Tresvik began by carving bears but soon branched out into eagles, pelicans, owls, alligators and fish. His specialty is creating a sense of motion in his subjects and highly expressive faces. He set up his workshop on Highway 25, throwing open the doors and dragging out his wares for sales on periodic weekends. From nothing but word of mouth and looky-loos like me, his work began to sell. Now he’s receiving commissions from ardent followers who return again and again. “I have a guy in Golden Meadow who loves alligators, so many of the alligators I do are with him in mind,” Tresvik says. “People seem to like the pelicans, too.”
As his work developed, so did his arsenal of chainsaws. He now has nine different sizes for various parts of the project. “I start by blocking out a rough shape with a large chainsaw. I usually have a picture of where I want to go and can visualize it beforehand. Once it’s blocked out, I sketch it onto the wood. If I mess up, I can sand it off and start again. As it comes together, I advance to smaller and smaller chainsaws for more precise cuts.” The final touches are accomplished with hand tools. Then, he uses a blowtorch to create depth and color. “Sometimes I paint the finished product, but often the natural wood looks better, so I just seal it to preserve the wood.”
What’s his favorite type of wood to carve? “I like anything that’s free,” he laughs. “I’m offered a lot of pine that’s fallen during storms. But what I love to get is white oak and cedar.” He even has a few creations he says are carved from “Katrina wood.”
Tresvik is diligent about using safety equipment, including protective chaps. (He says the number one chainsaw-carving accident occurs to the left leg.) He also wears goggles to protect his eyes and noise-canceling headphones to block the din of the chainsaw. He tried listening to music but prefers getting lost in the experience of carving rather than being distracted by anything.
Although he carved a few pumpkins for Halloween and Christmas trees for the holidays, he prefers the challenge of his animal subjects, saying, “Carving a pumpkin just isn’t as rewarding as seeing an eagle soar up out of the wood. My next challenge will be carving people’s pets and really making it look like them.”
There’s no doubt he’d have a ready market for some LSU tigers, St. Paul’s wolves, Pope John Paul jaguars and Covington High lions. (Did someone say fleur de lis?)
If you’re driving down Highway 25 in Covington and notice any of the above prowling along the side of the road, do your fellow drivers a favor. Stop. Pull over. Go see the creations and meet the creator for yourself. Or you can text Tresvik at 225-772-1853 to request a private viewing.
