2023 Clash of the Carvers
We are so exited to invite so many talented carvers this year!!
Marina Cole
Last years Queen is returning to defend her crown. Marina was always amused by art. She meddled in various mediums never really finding the one that was to be hers,
until she was mesmerized by a hand carved Japanese Dragon. She at once took initiative to find where she could learn to express herself in such a way. Marina picked up her first chainsaw on April 9th, 2016. It was 2 months later that she entered her first competition. She had entered the novice category which did not have a ranking. It was all for the experience and wisdom of fellow carvers. Since that competition in June 2016, she has been involved in other competitions and events around the world such as Australia, Alaska and of course throughout British Columbia and Alberta.
Ryan Villiers
Ryan Villiers is from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Villiers has sold commissions across our great nation and throughout the United States. Villiers got into carving in 2017 after watching Carver Kings and transitioning from work as a heavy-duty mechanic. His first portrait carving was of his grandfather who died in 2018. Villiers pours his talent and passion into every single piece and this award-winning artist is no stranger to international acclaim. Ryan creates unique, detailed, and memorable pieces that are sure to capture, commemorate or showcase your business or interests.
Jacob Lucas
Jacob is from Washington and has been carving since 2004. Carving became Jacob’s dream at age 13 and the rest is history. He has competed and placed in a number of national and international events. He has a 10-foot tall nutcracker figure that he carved for the city of Leavenworth’s Nutcracker Museum. Jacob will be attending our neighbors to the north chainsaw competition in Chetwynd and we 
wish him the best there. We cannot wait to see what he will be carving here in Libby this year.
Tomas Vrba
Tomas is from Slovakia but now makes his home in Washington. Tomas earned a Masters in Sculpture Restoration from VSVU Bratislava. Tomas is returning to us for the 3rd year and was one of last year’s People’s Choice Award recipients. Tomas has been carving full-time since 2008 and has won many awards. His studio is located in Bellingham.
Mark Colp
Mark was born in Alberta but makes his home in California.
Mark started carving right out of high school and has been carving for over 36 years. Mark was on the reality show Carver Kings which can be seen on Netflix. He was also on many episodes of the reality show Saw Dogs. Mark has won many awards and he enjoys seeing people take his art home.
John Hayes
John is from Waterford, Ireland, and this his third year in our competition. John has worked in many different areas of woodworking before he tried chainsaw carving. It was after John worked on the carving of a 300 year old tree located in his town and turned it into what is known as “The Angle Tree”, that he started being noticed as a talented carver. He has since competed in competitions all over the world and was a contestant on the reality show “A Cut Above”.
Sam Bowsher
My names Sam Bowsher, I’m a 24 year old, full time chainsaw carver based in the South of Scotland. I have competed in a handful of competitions over the last few years, my best result being a win of the 2020 Carve Carrbridge Online competition. I love carving wildlife, whether it’s British or worldwide. I have visited the US on a number of holidays to stay with some top carvers, namely Dayton Scoggins, Joe Dussia and Brett McLain, but never to compete. The Libby comp is one of my bucket list items that I am delighted to get the opportunity to compete in. I’ve grown up in the carving family and I absolutely love being a part of it Here’s some examples of my work
Alex Pricob
Alex was born in Moldova but now resides in Washington. Alex is returning for his 5th year. He became a professional 
carver in 2014 after taking 1st place in the semi-pro division in Reedsport. He has a studio in Yelm and is a full-time carver. We are looking forward to what he will be carving this year.
“george” from Mongolia
Born Dorjsuren Lkhagvadorj, he now goes by his Alaskan given nickname “George” which he earned at the World Ice Sculpture Championship in Fairbanks Alaska. The volunteers there nicknamed him “George” because of the difficulty they have pronouncing his Mongolian name. Like everything else, he 
accepts it with a grin and gets right back to work. George was the first Mongolian to carve ice as an art form. George has competed in many competitions internationally however; this will be George’s first time competing in our competition. We look forward to seeing his art in person.
Bongo Love
Bingo is from Zimbabwe and is returning for his 4rd year. He started carving stone and wood when he was very young. His Grandfather was his mentor and influencer, as it is common for families to pass the trade of sculpting down to the next generation. Bongo’s animal pieces are symbolic of their tribal cultural traditions and are often inspired by dreams. He mostly focuses on mother and child, as well as family abstract pieces. Bongo learned to carve with a homemade adze and he began to master his sculptors to exhibits in galleries in both Europe and the USA. He has won multiple awards at chainsaw carving competitions.
Joe Dussia
event every year since it started. He started his off as a body work artist who took his passion and creative abilities from painting and airbrush work to chainsaw artist. Born and raised in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania, Joe’s love for the outdoors and nature lends credibility and authenticity to his artwork. He has performed at fairs and festivals across the USA and Europe. His talents are many, from mechanics to art he understands form and design and has the gumption to work hard and incorporate that into his sculptures. His finished product proves this. He is a quiet competitor whose finished pieces define the “wow” factor in chainsaw art.Dennis Beach
Denis lives in the wooded hills of Wapwallopen, Pennsylvania. He cut into his first hardwood log in the early 1980s
and has been sculpting some of todays greatest woodcarvings. Denis specializes is speed carvings, where he spends 30 minutes on stage with one log and quickly transforms a piece of nature into a piece of art. He has carved wood in New York, Kentucky, Georgia, Germany, Australia and Japan. Additionally Denis has carved ice in Alaska and Austria and went to the Caribbean islands to carve coral.
Adrian Bois
Adrian is from Villa Elisa in Argentina. Adrian has been competitively carving for about six years. Adrian began his career building wooden toys and small hand carved pieces. Adrian has traveled around the world carving and he says this is all due to the chainsaw carving world. He says chainsaw carvers are like a big family and he is proud to be part of the family.
Chris Wood
Chris began his career as a chainsaw carver in the 1990’s after he quit his job as a steelworker. He is known as the “Big Welshmen with Heart of Gold”. Chris had dyslexia and struggled academically but excelled in creative subjects in school. He has turned his love of art and woodcarving into a career and works on many creative projects around the world. Chris strives to create beautiful and lighthearted pieces that bring joy to his audience. Chris was also a contestant on the Discovery Channel reality show “A Cut Above”.
Annalena Shoebe
Rolf Doderlein de win
Norbert Varga
Norbert is from Fejer County and has been craving for about 7 years. He started competing in 2019, when he entered a popular carving event in Blockhausen, Germany. At that event he won an audience award. He went on in 2020 to win 2nd place, in 2021 he won 3rd, and in 2022 he won another audience award. He competes in other chainsaw events where he continues to enchant people with his amazing artwork.
Raimondas Uzdravis
I’ve been working with a chainsaw for 31 years. I worked as a logger for ten years. I’ve been a carpenter for fifteen years. I made forest furniture, resting areas, cross the wooden bridges and stairs and gazebos. Eight years old I started chainsaw carving. I like to do burning sculptures at various festivals for the audience. I studied forestry and landscape architecture. In the international carving festivals I started in 2016.
Brigitte Lochhead