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Alex Bieniecki is a local wood-carver. He created several sculptures at Granite Fields Golf Club in Kingston out of tree trunks with a chainsaw, including an eagle, rabbits, heron and bears.
Alex Bieniecki, seen here painting, is a local wood-carver.
Alex Bieniecki touches up one of his sculptures at Granite Fields Golf Club in Kingston.
Alex Bieniecki is a local wood-carver who created several sculptures from tree trunks at Granite Fields Golf Club in Kingston. This bear is one of 14 carvings he has done with a chainsaw at the golf course.
Alex Bieniecki poses with one of his many sculptures at Granite Fields Golf Club in Kingston.
Alex Bieniecki works on one of his many sculptures at Granite Fields Golf Club in Kingston.
Alex Bieniecki has created several sculptures out of tree trunks at Granite Fields Golf Club in Kingston.
Alex Bieniecki is a local wood-carver. He created several sculptures at Granite Fields Golf Club in Kingston out of tree trunks with a chainsaw, including an eagle, rabbits, heron and bears.
Alex Bieniecki, seen here painting, is a local wood-carver.
Alex Bieniecki touches up one of his sculptures at Granite Fields Golf Club in Kingston.
Alex Bieniecki is a local wood-carver who created several sculptures from tree trunks at Granite Fields Golf Club in Kingston. This bear is one of 14 carvings he has done with a chainsaw at the golf course.
Alex Bieniecki poses with one of his many sculptures at Granite Fields Golf Club in Kingston.
Alex Bieniecki works on one of his many sculptures at Granite Fields Golf Club in Kingston.
Alex Bieniecki has created several sculptures out of tree trunks at Granite Fields Golf Club in Kingston.
KINGSTON — Alex Bieniecki is a magician of sorts, turning ragged tree stumps into eye-catching wooden sculptures that draw crowds.
That’s what he did most recently at Granite Fields Golf Club in Kingston. The 40-year-old chainsaw artist has created a wildlife world on the green that’s both whimsical and realistic.
The sculptures are carved into oak and maple tree trunks and depict a menagerie of animals; the most striking an 11-foot eagle at hole No. 8 that took eight days to sculpt.
Golfers and employees often pause to admire the work. They take photos and chat, too, when the carver is on site to touch up a piece.
“That’s my favorite one,” said Doug Edison, a Granite Fields employee, referring to a heron sculpture.
Edison has seen Bieniecki’s carvings come to life over the past two years.
“It’s amazing to watch how he does it,” Edison said. “He goes up there and we have no idea what he’s going to do. There were a couple things we asked for, but he basically looks at the wood and you end up with these beautiful creations that everyone stares at.”
Bieniecki grew up in both Atkinson and Plaistow — calling northern New Hampshire home for the past decade — but he’s left his mark across the region.
“It’s been a blessing,” he said. “I’m glad they enjoy it.”
Chainsawing fits his personality, he says, comparing his own energy to the speed of a revving tool. It’s the pace of the blade in his hands mixed with the vibrations against the wood that sets this art medium apart for him.
Bieniecki knows his collection of seven chainsaws well, and which are needed for an aggressive or delicate cut.
While he’s carved this eccentric path for himself over last eight years, he never imagined his hobby would turn into a career. He’s been an artist for more than two decades, he says, but woodcarving became his focus in 2014.
“I’m a woodsman,” Bieniecki said. “I like to go camping and that’s how it happened.”
He’d camp in the forest for 10 days straight in his early 20s. A chainsaw always came in handy to clear trails or cut firewood. When bored, Bieniecki would use it to carve wood.
After his girlfriend said he should sell his pieces, he began to put them on the roadside with price tags. They were a hit at fairs, and eventually he held his own carving festival.
His craft now takes him all over New England for lengthy on-site projects.
The Granite Fields’ project was pitched by its owner, Jim Dufresne. Bieniecki began the work in spring 2021.
This year, he spent five more weeks on new carvings and varnishing previous ones. There are 14 carvings to date with plans for more in the works, including some of his favorite mythical creatures.
Edison said the golf course occasionally cuts down trees to keep others healthy and what Bieniecki was able to do with the stumps was “fairly miraculous.”
Granite Fields wanted to depict the wildlife seen around the property and Bieniecki lent his expertise. His influence is most apparent with the heron sculpture.
“I said that would be really good spot for a heron with the swamp right there and then we saw one fly by,” Bieniecki said. “It’s synchronicity. They are signs to show you are on the right path.”
These carvings offered new challenges for the craftsman. Wood is an unforgiving medium and hardwood trees require precision.
“You have to be more decisive with oak because you don’t have time with it,” Bieniecki explained.
His work is all done freehand, with occasional spray paint for guidance or a reference photo.
Each carving is its own work of art. He’s transformed a rotting tree stump into a turtle within an hour. The more intricate ones, like the heron and eagle, are blocked and planned against the unforgiving oak and maple.
Then he adds varnishing, burning, oiling and acrylic painting. A few carvings are painted, but most are left in their natural finish to showcase the wood’s beauty.
It’s a labor of love and an art that reflects how he likes to work.
“I work hard and I work fast,” Bieniecki said. “The chainsaw and I get along really well.”
Granite Solutions is a reporting project focusing on mental health in New Hampshire from The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information visit collaborativenh.org.
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