Welcome to Sedro-Woolley's
4th of July Celebration!
All links are above this banner.
The dates for the 2025 Loggerodeo are set but may change slightly.
All links are above this banner.
The dates for the 2025 Loggerodeo are set but may change slightly.
Raised on a farm in Ohio, Anthony builds luxury homes for a living. He moved to Hoquiam, Washington where he came across a large piece of driftwood and felt the urge to carve it into a wolf. He bought a chainsaw and ….BOOM! He found his passion and has been chainsaw carving ever since. His infectious enthusiasm graces homes and businesses all over Washington and throughout the United States. He is the proud owner of Native Beach Accessories on Ocean Beach Road in Hoquiam, where his incredible talent is showcased.Anthony was severely injured in July, 2022 while disposing of fireworks. He lost most of his left thumb and some of his index and middle finger and was airlifted to Harborview hospital in Seattle for surgery. Not even a full year later he has overcome and is back to chainsaw carving. Anthony says, “You need three things to be an artist: gift, ambition, and desire.” Anthony, you are an inspiration to all of us!
Matt had the fortune of growing up just down the road from Mark and Colby Herrington where he was inspired by their work. Now 29, Matt has been carving since he was 15 out of Carbonado, Washington. He has competed and placed in shows since 2013. Matt loves to carve for a hobby while owning and operating his own tree service business. His favorite thing to carve is aquatic animals. After a couple years off, Matt began competing again in 2022 and looks forward to continuing his creativity and sharing it with his family. Pictured here is Matt teaching his 8-year-old step daughter how to carve. She even sold a couple trees at a show last year.
Tomas Vrba is an award-winning chainsaw sculptor and metal artist. Tomas combines the classical fine arts training he received in his native country of Slovakia with the raw power of modern tools, like the chainsaw, to create a unique style of sculpture. At his studio in Bellingham, Washington, Tomas creates commissioned sculptures in metal and wood, including chainsaw carvings and tree stump art, for display in private residences and public works.
Growing up in Slovakia before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Tomas never imagined he’d get the chance to be a working artist, let alone an artist making a name for himself in America. In the early 1990’s, Tomas earned a spot in an art school apprenticeship program where he spent the next four years training in classical wood carving. He went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Sculpture Restoration from VSVU Bratislava, one of Europe’s premier fine arts institutions.
After college, Tomas spent a number of years as a fine art restorer in Vienna, preserving some of the world’s finest works of art. But despite his success, he dreamed of creating his own sculptures. While on vacation in Berlin, Tomas met Allison, who was visiting from the Seattle area, where she was born and raised. In 2006, Tomas and Allison married and returned to the Pacific Northwest, where they opened Tomas Vrba Studio.
Based out of Lakeport, California Jarrod has been carving since 2018. Flowers grew up in Arkansas, but moved to California where he luckily decided to stop at Mark Colp’s shop looking for mill scraps for a garden box. The rest is history. Jarrod says “Mark became my mentor and carving is my meditation. This will be my fourth-year carving and my favorite themes to carve are nautical and wildlife, however, the ultimate goal with any creation is to make it beautiful and lively.” Last year he competed in Yreka, CA Reedsport, OR Ocean Shores, WA and Sedro-Woolley, WA.
A resident of Bonney Lake, Washington; Jacob Lucas has been carving since 2004. Throughout the years he has worked in many mediums such as drawing, clay sculpture, digital design, glass blowing, and chainsaw art.
Carving became a dream of Jacob’s as a child when his grandmother bought some cute carved bears at the local fair. After an initial situation with a stolen saw he came back to carving 11 years later when his grandmother offered to buy him a new one. He was hooked right away. A few years in, Jacob decided to try competitive carving; he entered the Reedsport Divisional in Oregon, taking second place in the semi-pro category. He returned the next year and entered as a professional, taking eighth place among 30 of the best carvers in the world. In 2015, Lucas was invited by Bob King to go to Mulda, Germany as his partner to represent the U.S.A. in the Huskycup Worldcup Championship Invitational chainsaw carving against teams from five other countries and they took second place. Jacob went on to win first place and People’s Choice in Reedsport in 2022, the biggest competition on the West Coast.
Lucas has been featured in many carving articles. He has spent the last 10 summers sculpting trees for the City of Bridgeport next to the Chief Joseph Dam in Eastern Washington, 30 miles south of Omak. He now has 30 sculptures in the town. Jacob also has a few sculptures on display in the City of Chelan and has carved a 10-foot-tall nutcracker for the City of Leavenworth that is located in the center of town across form the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum. Jacob carves full time and takes custom orders. He said “I love to make people smile with my art”.
A Colorado resident since 1989, Srholez is an artist, wood sculptor, and performance wood and ice carver who is inspired by travel, landscapes, and culture. Before founding Sweetwater Trading Post in 2009, he honed his chainsaw skills during the two decades
he spent building log homes.
Joe has been professionally competing and creating work since 2015. Imbued by a boundless sense of creativity, he has since participated in many mastery-level wood carving events and ice shows. Joe's creations are the results of an eclectic interest in global folk art, architecture, music and an instantly recognizable sense of signature humor. His grandfather - who was a master gold, silver, and copper-smith who created pieces for Tiffany and Co. and Cartier is one of his major influences.
He currently resides in Sweetwater, CO with his pets and youngest daughter Fara, and works form a hand-constructed home studio.
Mike Ayers can carve just about anything with a chainsaw. His journey started when his uncle asked if Mike could carve a bear. He did, but it took him two days, and he wasn’t happy with the results. Nevertheless, Mike’s neighbor bought it, so Mike kept carving. Today, with several years of
chainsaw carving behind him, he holds the world record for most bears in an hour at thirty-eight. At his Mountain Mike’s Whetstone Woodworks in Maggie Valley, large tree trunks lie in wait for their transformation at the hands of Mike’s chainsaw and imagination. As a competition carver, Mike has traveled to events all over the world. His work portrays lifelike sculptures carved from wood mostly sourced from the surrounding counties. He generally carves on-site, but he also carves standing trees on-location.
Visitors to Mountain Mike’s Whetstone Woodworks will see carvings of all kinds. Many are lifelike portrayals of the animals found in the western North Carolina mountains. But Mike also carves super heroes, recognizable figures from history, and anything that a customer wants or that he can dream up. Visitors can also watch, from a safe distance, as Mike carves his creations on-site.
Wood Sculptor, Ryan Villiers, is no stranger to creating unique, detailed, and memorable pieces that are sure to capture attention, commemorate significance, or showcase your business or interests. He creates everything form large animals such as bears, cougars, and birds to superhero and fantasy characters. He will even recreate pets and specific people. Villiers carved Rambo and Sheriff Tessie for the town of Hope, B.C., where the first Rambo movie was filmed. Recently, Canadian icon, Ron Maclean gave props to Ryan for a carving he created of legendary hockey commentator, Don Cherry.
Villiers pours his talent and passion into every single piece he creates. He is an award-winning artist who is no stranger to international acclaim. Located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Villiers has sold commissions to customers across Canada and throughout the United States. He has even shared his talents on the Jennifer Hudson show in L.A. twice. "I'm excited to attend the Loggerodeo finally. It's been on my bucket list and I look forward to seeing some familiar friends as well as meeting new ones." he said.
Wade Lapp h
as been a professional multimedia artist since 2012. He carves in multiple mediums, including wood, pumpkins, and ice, and sculpts in sand and clay. Lapp is from Kelso, Washington. He started competing in chainsaw carving at the Oregon Divisional Chainsaw Championship as a semi-pro and placed 3rd. Soon after, he competed in the Sedro-Woolley Loggerodeo and placed 5th in 2022. He also earned 2nd place at the World Ice Art Championship Multiblock in Fairbanks, Alaska in 2021 and won People’s Choice in Multiblock in 2022. He took 1st place at Texas Sandfest in Port Aransas in the semi-pro division in 2021 and 2022. He moved up to Masters in 2023 and won People’s Choice. Lapp likes to carve mythical/whimsical creatures, faces, wildlife and sea creatures. He will have many wood sculptures displayed at Spirit of Halloweentown in 2023, a 6-week event that takes place in Saint Helens, Oregon in September and October. His two walk-through attractions/exhibits are called Whispers in the Woods, which showcases a lot of his tree spirits carvings and the Pumpkins and Sasquatch Walk, which features his wood carved pumpkins with faces and sasquatches, giant snails, mushrooms, and other creatures in the woods. Wade is also looking forward to the Sedro-Woolley Carving Championships, “I feel excited about participating at the Loggerodeo event. It’s a great competition from world renowned carvers. It’s an honor to be part of this event.”
