By Mike Finney

HARRINGTON — It wouldn’t be pretty to see surgeons or dentists try to accomplish their jobs with chainsaws.

However, when it comes to carving works of art out of hunks of wood, Felton’s Rick Torres thinks the chainsaw is where it’s at.

That said, the recently retired Delaware state trooper put his craft on display in the Mann-Tharp Pavilion at the 105th annual Delaware State Fair on Friday.

It took exactly 14 minutes for Mr. Torres to create a great horned owl in front of several rapt viewers.

He used an electric saw rather than his traditional gas-powered one, resulting in a battery change.

It was the first time the woodcarver had visited the fair in several years, and he said it was like a nice reunion with an old friend.

“I’m looking forward to this,” he said before his demonstration. “I did this years ago. I haven’t been out to the state fair for quite a while, but the state forestry service asked me to do a little demo, … a quick one, which was nice.

“I’ve been doing (woodcarving) for almost 25 years now, off and on.”

Now that he’s enjoying retirement, Mr. Torres is spending more time making sculptures out of wood for RJ Torres Artistry.

“It was a hobby for a long time, but I recently retired not too long (ago), just so I could get back into this,” he said. “So, I’ve been waiting to get back at it for quite a while.

“The toughest part of it is probably the roughing out. That’s fun with a big chainsaw, and you’re getting rid of the wood and having fun, and wood chips are flying and all that good stuff.”

He added, “I’m known for my (pieces’) details, but believe it or not, that’s probably the least fun part.”

Those intricacies come with lots of practice with the very tip of the chainsaw.

And, besides his quick show at the fair Friday, two of Mr. Torres’ works are on display there.

The Delaware Department of Agriculture's Delaware Forest Servce asked him if he could carve out Smokey Bear this year, in honor of his 80th birthday.

He was happy to meet the challenge, even receiving some assistance, as his dad turned the top of Smokey’s hat on his lathe, and his brother cut the belt buckle on his router.

The piece was carved out of a tree fromTybout Tract at  Blackbird State Forest and weighs 300 pounds.

A second bear sculpture carved by Mr. Torres stands at the entrance to the DNREC pavilion.

“I made a black bear that’s at the state fair, also,” he said. “That was to represent that year when they had the Delabear running around upstate.”

And, with additional time on his hands, he can craft more carvings of his true favorite — North American wildlife. He said he is still trying to master horses.

“I’m not a guy that pumps out tons and tons of carvings,” Mr. Torres said. “I’d say I have less than 1,000 carvings.”

Staff writer Mike Finney can be reached at 302-741-8230 or mfinney@iniusa.org.
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