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[chainsaw revs]

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[hard rock music]

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- Angela Fitzgerald:
Justin Howland

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is a world-class chainsaw artist

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and the creative force
behind Grizz Works.

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- Justin Howland: We carved
competitively, you know,

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and we would start getting good

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and we traveled
around the country.

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We carved at a world level
for a while.

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- Angela: Armed with nothing
but a roaring chainsaw

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and a sculptor's vision, Justin
breathes life into raw wood,

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transforming forgotten logs
into wildlife masterpieces.

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- You can visualize it,
and with the chainsaw,

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you can get rid of all the wood
and find it inside of there.

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I'm looking at his ear and
making sure they're balanced.

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Find where his eyes are,
and I cut those out,

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and then I shape his nose.

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- Angela: Justin first started
to hone his artistic skills

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at an early age.

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His dedication and natural
ability set him apart.

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- Justin: Want me to sketch you
a bear real quick?

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- Angela: In high school, he was
an award-winning pencil artist.

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- Justin: So, this is what
I'm seeing when I'm carving.

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I wanted to be a professional
artist, but after high school,

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I didn't really have the means
to achieve that.

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And when I found
chainsaw carving, I thought,

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"This might be my chance
to be a professional artist."

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I was comfortable
with the chainsaw

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and I had some artistic ability.

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I just kind of put two and two
together.

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- Angela: Without any
formal training,

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Justin set out to carve
his first bear.

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- Justing: I carved that
whole six-foot bear

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over the course
of about three days.

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It wasn't as great as what
I envisioned. [laughs]

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To me, it looked like a guy
in a Mickey Mouse suit.

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- Angela: Within a few years,
Justin perfected his craft.

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- Justin: I wanted to do it
so bad

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and I wanted to be good at it.

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And then, I figured that
we were onto something.

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We had, I think, 60-some people
waiting for a carving.

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- Angela: Justin left
his concrete finishing job

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and cemented his future.

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- I think I'm gonna stay home

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and try this chainsaw carving
for a while.

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They kind of laughed at me.

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- Angela: His world now revolves
around the hum of a saw

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and the soul of the wood.

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- They thought I was crazy

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to try to be an artist
for a living, but... [laughs]

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It's, yeah, I don't know,
it's working.

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- Angela:
For more than 26 years,

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Justin has created
thousands of carvings.

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The piles of sawdust and wood
scraps are testament to his art.

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- Justin: We've got stuff
all over the country,

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all over the world really.

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We carved one last year that was
24 and a half feet tall.

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It's a wildlife collage.

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I like working
on the really big ones

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'cause I have a lot of big logs
to work with

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and I really enjoy the end
product that has a presence.

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We do a lot of, like,

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36-inch wide by 10-foot tall
grizzly bears

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and stuff like that.

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- Angela: This hand-forged art

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also caught the attention of the
hit TV show <i>Extreme Makeover.</i>

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- They asked us if we would do
a carving for the show.

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A firefighter with the full gear
and the mask.

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He had a baby that was wrapped
in a blanket.

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We've done gun fighters
and warriors and gladiators.

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- Angela: The gladiator
is his most cherished,

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built hand in hand
with his brother.

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- Justin: It was, like,
six and a half feet tall,

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but then we carved cedar armor
for it.

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He had steel weapons that were
made out of farm implements.

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That was probably
my favorite project.

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- Angela: Hidden from the
highway's steady rush,

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Justin's secluded
outdoor gallery

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unveils a collection
of handcrafted art.

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- Justin: People will stop
and they'll say,

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"We didn't know there was all
this stuff here."

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It is our private property.

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We want people to enjoy it.

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- Angela: For Justin, carving
is no longer just a pastime.

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He is a true artisan
of the Northwoods.

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- I still enjoy it,

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especially when you're gonna get
into a really big piece of wood

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and you've got to use
a really big saw

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to get the big pieces off
right away.

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To be an artist every day
is what motivates me.

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[bright music]