Carving Out Community Connections

By Mary Casey-Sturk

Cincinnati has an amazing arts community with multiple art centers where residents can explore galleries, attend programs, learn a new hobby and even catch a play.

This is part of what makes the area a great place to live-access to the arts in all shapes and forms. Community-based arts centers are the heart and soul of neighborhoods and remove barriers so everyone can enjoy the arts.

Wood carver Chris Rust, based in Fort Thomas, knows firsthand the impact these organizations have had on his art. He has exhibited his work at the Behringer-Crawford Museum’s Fresh Art, Art After Hours at the Campbell County Public Library, and the Baker Hunt Art and Cultural Center.  Rust can look at a tree stump, and a canvas is born. Using his chainsaw, Rust has created many unique pieces of art that dot our community and beyond. He has works in Canada, Brazil and Italy. In the winter, you can watch him in action at the Cincinnati Christkindlmarkt adjacent to the Lager House.

Locally, his work is scattered around the tri-state, including the recent sculptures in Kennedy Heights and in Indian Hill.

Rust noted that it’s complex work, “for a recent residential piece in Indian Hill, my biggest piece yet, I needed twenty feet of scaffolding.”   The work, a wonderful mix of the wildlife that appears on their land and the owner’s dogs topped out at 23 feet. Chris noted, “the turkey was a last minute add on as there was a group of them in the yard on the last day of the carve.”

Rust’s first work in Indian Hill was an owl for a private residence. “This one was challenging in that I ran into a rotten section of the tree as I was in the finishing stages. It altered the shape, but it came out better than I intended.”

Rust, who recently retired from a decades-long career with the Fort Thomas Fire Department, and his wife Stacey have long lived in Fort Thomas where they raised their three sons.

“So many people recognized me as a fireman, and now many recognize me as a chainsaw artist”, shared Rust.

Clever as a Fox

Recently, you may have seen his work outside the Kennedy Heights Arts Center. Rust’s whimsical fox (now named Monty) sits proudly atop a stack of bubbles as his tail wraps around them and offers a serious gaze. Visitors to the Center have embraced it.

Indian Hill Living spoke with Mallory Feltz, the Director of Exhibitions and Public Art at the Kennedy Heights Arts Center about working with Rust.

Feltz shares, “when it was being discussed that we needed to cut down a large oak tree in the front lawn of KHAC due to safety reasons, we realized that our beloved tree didn’t just have to go away but that it could be transformed into something beautiful for our community. We weighed our options on what exactly to do: create an open call for proposals from local artists or commission someone we knew to use the wood to make something that engaged the community or similar ideas.” Continuing, “with the tree company scheduled to take down the tree while we had nice weather in the Fall 2025, our timeline quickly accelerated and we had to act fast. We decided that the best route to take was to find a local (or regional) chainsaw/wood artist that could create/carve a wonderful piece of art out of the tree. We had the tree company leave about 15 feet of the trunk and immediately started looking for area artists. Just by searching the internet for “chainsaw artist Cincinnati” and “chainsaw artist Ohio” we found a few artists whose past work we really liked and reached out to Chris Rust to see if he was interested in discussing further.”

“Come to find out that Chris actually did a few carvings in the area (Pleasant Ridge) and so was familiar with the area but didn’t know about KHAC and what all we offered as a community art center. We had a delightful conversation, and it felt like he was a good match for us, but we (KHAC) needed to come up with a design that was meaningful for KHAC and our mission while also playing to the strengths of Chris’s skills. KHAC leadership staff (myself and our Executive Director Ellen Muse) ultimately decided upon a color sculpture of a fox with a mythically long tail sitting atop a column of bubbles with some bench seating at the bottom. We gave Chris a quick sketch of what we had in mind and trusted in him to make it come to life!” adds Feltz.

“It was such a joy to watch Chris patiently and methodically carve the tree over the course of a week or two, and each day we could see the sculpture emerge and take shape. Once the carving was completed, he added bold colors to really make the fox and bubbles come to life! It adds attention to our front lawn, provides a nice seat to rest, and greets our visitors every day.” Feltz continues, “we are so beyond happy with how it all turned out and how easy it was to work with Chris, who understood our mission and how important this sculpture was to us. He listened, gave suggestions and input, shared what he enjoyed doing and where his strengths lied, and was a great communicator throughout the whole project! Collaboration like this is what a community art center is all about.” 

Why are community arts centers so important?

Feltz states, “community art centers are vital to neighborhoods for many reasons. They are gathering places where diverse populations are embraced while creating social cohesion, which builds a sense of belonging. Economically, they bring people to a neighborhood and provide opportunities, jobs, and experiences. Educationally, they provide learning opportunities for skill development and self-expression which leads to better mental health and well-being. Supporting local artists also tends to increase neighborhood beautification through public art projects, just like our fox sculpture! It shows our neighborhood means a lot to us and we care for it and all who reside here.”

More support for local arts centers.

For 8 North Center for the Arts in Fort Thomas, Rust created an owl that was donated to the center as part of a fundraiser during an exhibition of the work of Charley Harper.

The center shared, “all of us at 8 North Center for the Arts are very grateful to Chris for his special contribution. After so many years of dedicated service as a firefighter/paramedic he continues to give back in retirement as an artist.”
 
“We requested a “Harper-inspired” owl for our silent auction fundraiser — he did his homework and absolutely nailed it. The piece was such a standout that we ended the evening with an exciting bidding war just before the close of the auction. That moment of friendly competition was a testament to both the artistry of the carving and the enthusiasm of our supporters.”
 
“Donations from artists like Chris are invaluable. Not only do they provide much-needed funds, they signal support from the arts community and draw attention to our cause, bringing us that much closer to a renovated and accessible facility.”  Adding, “but it’s important to note that our goal is bigger than an updated and more usable building. We truly believe that arts centers are critical to quality of life. They are living, breathing, extensions of the communities they serve — providing space and encouraging personal growth for adults, children, and families. And people like Chris Rust are helping to make that dream a reality.”

To learn more about Rust and his creations, follow him on Facebook or visit his website crcarving.com.

Sidebar:

About the sculpture at the Kennedy Heights Arts Center

“Throughout history and folklore from all over the world, foxes have been powerful and fitting symbols for creatives! Foxes are known for their resourcefulness, adaptability, intuition & awareness, and intelligence. They are also known as tricksters, manipulating the normal order to create strange, unusual, and fantastical situations. They are rebellious, humorous, curious, and complicated. These traits are essential for turning imagination into art. Bubbles capture light and color briefly before vanishing, much like creative sparks that must be embraced before they fade. Their fragile nature reflects the moments in artists’ lives and creative journey. Standing on top of a tower of colorful spheres, our fox (named Monty!), acts as an energetic symbol for the inquisitive and inventive nature of all our artists and supporters. Just like the spirit of KHAC, this sculpture is whimsical, colorful, fun, a little strange, and most importantly inviting!”- Mallory Feltz.