CORFU, N.Y. — Rick Pratt and his family live in Corfu, they are a family of artists. However, instead of using paintbrushes they use chainsaws.
"Today I'm out here carving with my son Dylan," said Artist Rick Pratt.
It's a family talent that is now turning a profit at their business Chainsaw Artist.
"I've been doing this for over 27 years. I used to cut trees for a living and then I saw the art form in the Adirondacks and then I started practicing at home," said Pratt.
2 On Your Side caught up with them while sculpting an eagle and bear out of tree stumps that would have otherwise gone to waste.
"These trees were starting to go. He took them down because they were perched over the house," he said.
Instead of letting them go to waste, the homeowner called the Pratt family to give them a second life as art.
"They wanted to do something with the stumps," he said, "so they called us to come and make some artwork out of it."
Pratt said one sculptor takes more than 16 hours to make and designs are dependent on the height and width of the wood available.
"In sculptor, there is usually like three steps trying to block out the form and not cut into something that you're gonna need," he said. "Then you can get the smaller saws, smaller equipment and be able to do the detail work."
Pratt said he finds inspiration everywhere. "When I drive down the street I'm always looking at trees and you think about potentials and possibilities."