Whether he liked it or not, after Curt Drinkard was laid off a year ago, he had plenty of time on his hands. Bored, and wanting to do something, he went out to his sister's house and turned an elm stump there into a coyote using a chainsaw. Drinkard said after carving the coyote, he saw carving things out of wood with chainsaws was something he was good at.
"This just started off after making the coyote," Drinkard said. "I gradually branched off and tried to do anything I thought of. I tried different animals and things such as totem poles. I have been doing it about a year. Most of my carvings are out of white oak. I like to use a solid wood. A lot of it has turned out good."
Drinkard said he has a lot of people who will drive by his house and stop and watch him carve which he likes. He said the first thing he does is visualize the chunk of wood.
For more of this story check out the Sept. 21 issue of the California Democrat.