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Carving His Niche | Artist Jason Smathers
Written By: William McReynolds - Highlands Plateau Audubon Society | Issue: 2020/11 - November
A chainsaw in deft hands with strong arms liberates bears and eagles and woodland creatures inside local logs.
Art defies definition.
One reason is that as soon as someone establishes boundaries for art, it becomes “artistic” to violate those boundaries.
The “fine arts” were once recognized as that which is taught in the academies of Florence, Rome, Paris and London. The Impressionists and Dadaists banished all those rules.
What we can say with confidence is that art is the freest form of human self-expression.
Folk Art is self-expression that appears locally using natural materials such as wood, clay, fiber and glass. Folk artists use few tools for varied purposes. A wood carver has his knives and his imagination. Knitters use simple knitting “needles” to turn out their fashion masterpieces. Tribal and primitive art is produced with simple tribal and primitive tools. Folk art is taught by one generation to the next.
Here on the Plateau we are blessed with excellent folk artists.
Jason Smathers is one of them. Jason grew up locally in Transylvania and Henderson counties as well as in Washington State where he went to high school. When he is not on the side of SR 64 in Sapphire sculpting and displaying his creations, he is at home in Lake Toxaway.
Jason has spent 17 of his 43 years sculpting wood with a chainsaw. He was a welder before he became a full-time folk artist.
“My Dad starting doing it years ago. I tried it and fell in love with this type of carving.”
He is self-taught, having had no formal training in art or sculpture. He has had to learn how to modify and rebuild his chainsaws for best artistic use. Is there a Stradivarius among these artists’ chainsaws?
Most of his sculptures are bears and eagles. Bears are his choice because they are much loved hereabouts and eagles are symbols of America.
His bear sculptures are shaped to be “happy, welcoming and cute.” Carving his eagles, he takes inspiration from eagles being “tough, high-flying, and the best of the best.”
Sales were good this summer: Inventory is low.
“What do you like most about chainsaw sculpting?” I asked.
“It’s the loud, smoky, aggressive chainsaw,” he answered. He has a large tattoo of a chainsaw on his substantial left arm.
Jason wears important protective gear when he works. His wife Lanette works with him and is an artist in her own right. See photographs of Jason Smathers’ work on Facebook at “Cutting Edge Carvings LLC.”
Let the chips fly!
