GREENFIELD – An audience of three or four people grew to a couple dozen this week as Myles Nasby used a chainsaw to transform a simple log of wood into an adorable bear cub.
The Nasby Chainsaw Art Show was one of several new features this year at the Hancock County 4-H Fair, and judging by the awed hush of the crowd at his first event Tuesday, it was a hit.
“It’s interesting to see, especially with him blow-torching right now to see it come to life,” said Jeanne Plummer of Greenfield, who watched from a rocking chair for the duration of the show.
She chuckled when asked if she would be able to create something similar— “I can’t even draw stick figures,” she said. “He just started cutting big chunks off the top when I got here, and now the head is coming to life.”
Nasby is no stranger to the Hancock County fairgrounds, but this is the first time he has shown the craft he has been perfecting for 19 years.
Nasby was raised in south-central Indiana, but his grandparents live just east of Greenfield, and he was a local 10-year 4-H’er back in 2011.
“I still consider Greenfield home, though, because I have a lot of family here,” he said. “When the fair board member gave me a call and said they wanted me here, I got pretty excited because it was kind of like coming back home a little bit.”
Now a full-time chainsaw artist, he joined Nasby Chainsaw Art in 2009 to help people with their wood-carving needs all over the country. Nasby travels to sites to create works of art, but can also ship completed pieces anywhere through orders on his social media page. He also competes in carving competitions throughout the United States.
His father was also a chainsaw artist, and Myles Nasby sold his first piece at age 13. He creates wildlife, but his signature is his “happy bears” — creations with animated-like smiles.
“It’s contagious—a lot of people come up to me and say, ‘You just can’t help but smile when you look at them things,’” he said.
While pieces for chainsaw demonstrations take roughly 45 minutes to create, some of his more elaborate pieces can take hours. A large bear displayed in the back of his pickup truck, for example, was created in 12 hours in a chainsaw competition event.
While the first show was cut short due to a storm that came through the fairgrounds, those who came by were clearly pleased with his work. Paige Spegal of Shirley said she’s seen chainsaw creations before, but she’s never seen the process from carving to burning to paint. She enjoyed watching the fire burning, but even said she was impressed at the very beginning of the show.
“I could tell it was a bear after a few cuts,” she said.
The Nasby Chainsaw Art Show took place Tuesday and Wednesday in six sessions. It was one of several events sponsored by Hancock County Tourism. The group also sponsored the bounce houses, Farmer Olympics, Silly Safari shows, On the Edge of Illusion Variety Show, the Barnyard Revue Show and Pig Races, the rodeo and bull riding, and concerts by Walker County and Stella Luna and the Satellites.
Brigette Cook Jones, executive director of Hancock County Tourism and Visitor Center, said the fair has a major economic impact on the county. That’s why the county’s tourism commission approves grants to bring in entertainment.
Grandparents and relatives supporting 4-H students come to the fair, as well as people who follow regional recording artists. Some people are even attracted to the fair simply because it’s affordable: parking and admittance is free, which is not always the case for other county fairs and events.
A year ago, roughly 58,700 people came to the Hancock County Fair, Jones added. More than 21,000 of those people came from outside of Hancock County. She expects the numbers to be even higher this year, based on the popularity of the carnival and the live entertainment.
New and different events like the chainsaw show bring even more visitors than in the past, Jones added.
“The tourism commission is to attract out-of-county visitors into the county for a destination experience,” she said. “Unless you create those experiences, no one’s going to come. That’s why we partner with the (Hancock County) Ag Association and support them to create a variety of different events and things that will attract out-of-county visitors.”
