VENANGO - Chainsaw artist Brain Sprague is used
to the passing gaze of motorists as he works along Route 19, transforming
logs into bears or whatever his clients request.
The 42-year-old Crawford County man's audience is about to
get a lot larger.
He and his work will be featured April 19 on the WTBS's
"Man Made Movie" in a segment filmed earlier this month near
Woodstock, Ga.
For the uninitiated, "The Man Made Movie" is a
weekly movie shown with commercial breaks that also feature the
construction of what producers bill as the ultimate man's house.
Construction of the house, destined for use as a getaway by
members of the Atlanta Braves, is tied in each week with some event or
scene in the movie.
"The idea is to be fun and creative," Sprague said.
"They are giving a big emphasis on the manly part of the 'Man Made
Movie'."
In his case, the movie will be Arnold |
Schwarzenegger's "The Running Man"
which features scenes with Schwarzenegger brandishing a chainsaw.
Sprague, who works full-time for a gas-drilling company, said
his task when he arrived in Atlanta on March 3 was to carve a likeness of
the show's host Chad Taylor. That was a challenge, said Sprague who only
met the host for a few minutes over lunch and then was supplied with only
a drawing of Taylor, not a photo.
With cameras rolling, Sprague fired up a chain saw and set to
work for a carving process that would take him a dozen hours. When the
dust had settled, the show's producers were satisfied--for the most part.
Sprague said the show's producer's e-mailed a photo of the
sculpture to company officials in California. They had one concern. Their
wooden host seemed a little heavy and Sprague was asked to shave some heft
from the figure.
"I went back and gave him a chainsaw diet," Sprague said.
Sprague, who said he was selected for the job
after the producers reviewed his Internet Web site for Woodies Wood
Sculpture, said he was paid for his work and expenses, but is most pleased
with the national exposure his work will receive. |
While the sculpture of Taylor was
Sprague's first stab at carving the wooden form of a television host, it's
not his first departure from the world of wooden bears. He's done frogs and
other animals and even a monk for an Arizona bar called the Monastery.
There's no shortage of chain saw wood carvers. "But I've always
tried to do different things," said Sprague, who once shipped a 6-foot
wooden alligator to Florida.
He's hoping his minutes of fame bring other opportunities.
"It should give me some credibility," Sprague said. "It
can't hurt things."
JIM MARTIN can be reached at (814) 724-6397. Send e-mail to jim.martin@timesnews.com |
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