Making masterpieces, one cut at a time
8/5/2026
The whir of chainsaw causes wood pieces and sawdust to scatter in all directions. After the dust settles, a tree stump is turned into a long-lasting piece of art.
For Gary Keenan, chainsaw carver, the noise, heat, wood and dust, along with precise cuts, create a sculpture of beauty and entertainment. Keenan established Carving by Keenan and has been the featured wood carver at the Iowa State Fair for 16 years. Three years ago, two additional chainsaw carvers, T.J. Jenkins and Clint Henik, were added.
At the fair, the trio will carve up to 50 pieces from logs of wood. The pieces are then auctioned off with money going back into the fair, benefitting the Blue Ribbon Foundation. During the fair, the carvers field the similar questions daily from onlookers.
“The state fair feels like the movie ‘Groundhog Day.’ It’s the same routine,” he reflects. “It’s fun. I like talking to the public and creating lasting projects for the fair.”
Keenan’s interest in chainsaw carving goes back 26 years. He admired artist’s sculptures in a variety of mediums. When he viewed wood sculptures, he imagined how he could replicate the method and do it himself. He and a friend saw a carved wood item and his friend challenged him to carve something.
“I carved a fish,” he recalls. “It was slow and crude, but I loved it.”
After that, he began carving in his garage on weekends using various wood pieces.
“I was irritating my neighbors with the constant chain sawing,” he says, “Then people started buying my carvings, and it took off from there.”
The majority of his carvings are made on tree trunks on location. If the owner’s tree is within 30 miles of Des Moines, he’ll examine the tree and often do a test cut or plug if necessary to make sure the tree is solid. If it’s hollow in the base, he won’t carve. Most people have ideas in mind for designs. Common themes include animals, birds and sports mascots. He often provides ideas to help folks narrow it down. His work appears all over the Midwest.
One of his carvings from a dead ash tree is located in Chicago’s Jackson Park, near Hyde Park, and was part of the Chicago Tree Project. Keenan carved “The Green Lady” a 15.5-foot-tall green goddess with branched arms and leaves, which was renamed “Transformation.”
In Iowa Falls, the city took out numerous diseased ash trees. They saved the trunks, and he carved 20 trees for the Scenic City Foundation. A carved keyboard and guitar are placed at the Rock and Roll Museum in Okoboji.
He recalls an unusual carving of a customer who owned a cabin at a lake, who wanted a buxom, bare-breasted mermaid carved in wood.
“His wife said, ‘We can’t have this,’ so I did a breast reduction and put clamshells on it,” he says.
With chainsaws weighing 10-20 pounds, carving requires strength. Keenan says his early years of working on a dairy farm and competing in gymnastics built muscles.
“You need a certain level of physical stamina to work in 95-degree weather,” he explains.
Keenan appreciates the nature aspect of his artwork and making people happy with his sculptures.
“I feel lucky and fortunate to do this. It’s good to see a dead tree turned into art instead of firewood or in the landfill,” he reflects. “I’m forever grateful to do something I enjoy.” ♦
Jackie Wilson has written hundreds of articles for CITYVIEW and the Iowa Living magazines. She covers ordinary people living extraordinary lives.
