Lombardi in pine

MANAWA – A local chainsaw artist Ben Buschke was recently commissioned to create a statue of Vince Lombardi ahead of the NFL draft in Green Bay.
He was asked to create a statue of Vince Lombardi for the owners of a condo that is located on the west side of Lambeau Field. They live in Florida for most of the year, but stay in Green Bay through summer and the Packer season.
Buschke said once he got off a bulk of the wood from Lombardi, he started in on the finer details using smaller chainsaws and sanders.
After the carving was completed, he burned the wood, and used a transparent stain in order to fully view the wood grain, which is what the buyers asked for. The statue was then sealed to protect it from sun and mold.
Buschke delivered Lombardi to its new residence the Wednesday prior to the draft.

This is not the only statue that Buschke has been asked to do that is displayed in high traffic areas. He has carvings at resorts in Eagle River, as well as one at the Green Bay Botanical Gardens. He also has a large carving at the Stevens Point Sculpture Park.

Early cuts
Buschke started the art of chainsaw carving in 2017 when he was at a campground and saw some carvings throughout the grounds. When he saw the carvings he thought it was something he would be able to do, so he gave the art form a shot.
Teaming up with local tree service companies, namely BEK Tree Service out of Weyauwega, he is able to get logs to carve. He likes to work with pine logs, being they are softer and therefore easier to carve and they are also more pure in the middle.
Picking out the right log as well as roughing out the design is where Buschke said he starts the carving process.

Looking at the piece from different angles and making sure nothing looks exaggerated or stretched out is the key.
Buschke said the hardest part about the Lombardi piece was the face, which he does not mark on the log before carving.
“I’ve seen some people do that with spray paint or chalk or something, but I just carve it,” he said.
Drawing out a pattern prior to carving messes him up, so if he can no longer envision what he is doing he just goes at the piece from a different angle. This way he can easily spot where to take more wood off and keep working around the statue.
Visit his Facebook page at Buschke Carving. He is also on TikTok and Instagram at the same name.