In the Szkipala family, chainsaw carving is at the core of who we are. My father, Emil, is a chainsaw carver of over 30 years. When I turned 8 years old, he started to teach me the trade. I sold my first carving the same day, and was hooked ever since. 20 years later of studying and practicing the art form, I continue to travel all over the United States creating custom sculptures for satisfied clients. I also entertain at events, fairs, and live demos. I learned all about the carving world from my dad over the years. He mastered the art of hand-carving with chisels at a school in Europe. He produced alters, hand carved furniture, and antique restoration. When he immigrated to the States, he discovered chainsaws as another tool for art in Detroit, Michigan and quickly translated his skills and became a chainsaw carver full time.

Since I started carving at 8 years old, my dad would bring me to job sites and have me carve small logs beside him as he carved large stumps. I never imagined being able to carve those large stumps, and always admired his abilities in awe. On weekends and summers off from school I continued to follow his footsteps in the art form. After graduating college as a registered nurse, I worked in the emergency room 3 days per week, and often carved another 3 days. I then met my wife, and we decide to pick up travel nursing to explore the country and see where we wanted to settle down. We moved from Michigan and ultimately settled near Chattanooga, Tennessee.

When our son was born in 2024, I stepped away from nursing to focus on our family, and I quickly began to receive carving orders that I could complete right at home. It afforded me the flexibility to manage my time for work and family, and before I even realized it, I was now carving full time. My dream job. My passion. Im very thankful that God gave me a way to provide for my young family while pursuing my passion in His perfect timing. We then got a chance to carve some large stumps from the midwest in Indiana, down to Orlando, Florida. I traded travel-nursing for travel-carving, and enjoyed every minute of it so far!

My dad and I still get to enjoy carving side by side, as a father-son team. And now, I am blessed to be able to work with my clients to design and carve their trees into sculptures they can enjoy. I have met so many incredible people along the way, and look forward to every single tree I get to sculpt back to life.