Lets face it, we all like to make a bit of extra money from time to time but don't always get the opportunity, Chainsaw carving is always a good way to earn a bit of extra cash. Because of the nature of chainsaw carving people seem drawn to the art form, I believe it is because you get results within an hour, you can turn a piece of wood into your basic shape in a matter of minutes, this makes the art interesting to watch and fun to do, Chainsaw carvers are not only artists but performers as well, What usually happens to a beginner in this art is this.
Beginner starts first carving
Neighbors and friends notice what you are up to find it interesting
You give a carving to a friend or a family member
Others see your art and wonder about its local origin
Your projects get noticed by more people
Soon you are asked to do a piece in front of an audience at a local fair
And it grows from there, although this may take some time it likely will happen .
A good way to earn money is to make small carvings that can be packed away easily at a fair or from a display of your work. People will be more interested in a small to medium sized carving rather than a large seven foot tall carving that weighs two hundred pounds, What people like is also important as well, a carving of a small welcome bear is more likely to sell than a carving of your pet cat.
Another method to make some extra cash is to sell your stuff at online auction such as EBAY or YAHOO AUCTIONS, this method is nice because it gets your work across the country and in front of more people and a larger geographic area, prices can vary here so don't expect to get five hundred dollars for that three foot bear you just carved, people however will pay good money for quality work, but there is a limit to how much they will pay, Make sure that you list your item in the right category and have the right descriptive words in the title, for instance if we were selling a small welcome bear we would consider who would be interested in buying this and find the closest category to list in, another thing to remember is that you should try to have log home in your title because many log home owners like this type of thing in their home.
Yet another method of selling your carvings is at antique stores and furniture stores, antique stores often look for the classic cigar store Indian
Sometimes they look for other carvings as well, Furniture stores can sell almost any carving for you but the quality of the carving must be quite high as most furniture store are not interested in selling an item that does not have a completely professional look.
A commissioned piece is a nice way to make some extra cash too, the best place to get a commission I have found is a golf course, the reason is most golf courses have allot of trees many of witch are dying or dead, these trees have to be removed every couple of years for safety reasons, why not make an interesting carving into the stump of the tree
Many thousands of people will be walking past your carving all year long, this is great advertisement for you as an artist.
Local auctions are always a good source of income, most of the time you can find a local auction company that does an antique auction once a month contact them and see if you can put a few of your works up for auction, often you can get a very high price at these events and some times you will be giving them away, also the auction company will charge a fee that varies from company to company usually twenty five percent of the final price, I have seen a small welcome bear go for $200
Money making methods for chainsaw carvers
