SYDNEY, N.S. — Tracie Dugas insists she is no magician.
But gazing at her latest chainsaw wood carving, it’s hard to believe there wasn’t any magic involved in transforming a large pine log into a finely detailed sculpture of a life-sized wizard.
Dugas was part of a group of chainsaw carvers who both created and exhibited their artwork on the grounds of the Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion in Sydney on Sunday and Monday as part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality’s Canada Day weekend celebrations.
“The end result might look magical, but it takes a lot of work and imagination,” said the 49-year-old resident of Clare, a small community located between Digby and Yarmouth in the most westerly part of Nova Scotia.
With wet weather curtailing many of the weekend’s outdoor activities, a brief dry spell early Monday afternoon saw many sun-starved locals head to the Sydney waterfront where they took in the chainsaw carving along with more than a few curious cruise ship passengers.
“It’s amazing, it’s very impressive,” said Allison Tario of Ontario, who watched Dugas put the finishing touches on her wizard which, of course, was holding an owl.
“The detail is great, and the artist’s vision is very incredible — I mean just one bad cut and it could be ruined so they obviously have amazing talent and skill.”
Jo-Ann Bout of Sydney was also duly impressed with the chainsaw artwork, but one piece in particular caught her eye.
“This one reminds me of my late father, he was a lobster fisherman and a man of the sea,” she said while her husband took a photograph of her standing beside a Dugas sculpture of a pipe-smoking, bearded fisherman adorned in a yellow sou’wester.
Learning that the artist happened to be a woman made Bout smile even more.
“I spent time working as a small engine mechanic, so I know that women can do anything they put their mind to and she’s very good at what she does.”
Renowned chainsaw wood carver Joel Palmer, who was working on a bear carving under tenting a few metres away from Dugas, said her presence at the exhibition shows that their art is open to anybody with creativity and imagination.
“And you have to know what you’re doing with a chainsaw,” he said with a laugh.
“Even then it’s not for everyone, but we’re seeing more and more artists all the time.”
For her part, Dugas recalls how her initial interest in the chainsaw artwork quickly turned into an obsession.
“I started carving little Santas with chisels, but I had always wanted to carve a gargoyle,” she said, adding that she became intoxicated with the pleasant smell of freshly shaven and cut wood.
“I grew up around chainsaws and I was comfortable around them, so I went out and purchased an electric chainsaw and it then took me one whole summer to carve a gargoyle — I had just had a baby and I’d go out to the barn and work on this big piece of rock maple. I’d get lost in it and I’d slice, and it smelled good and it felt good.”
And she’s been doing it for the past 17 years. In fact, it’s become a bit of a family affair as daughter Allie assists with the oiling and painting of her mother’s completed artwork.
“I think the best part of it is seeing the smiles on people’s faces — it means a lot to me to see that my work is making people smile, making them happy,” she said.
Dugas and her family are heading back to the mainland, but it seems the wizard is sticking around.
Turns out a Cape Breton resident, who the chainsaw artist says lives "somewhere across the bay" purchased the sculpture before it was even finished.
Here today, gone tomorrow.
Magic.
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