Jeffrey Michael Samudosky: Born and raised in Shelton, Connecticut
Washington-based woodcarver Jeffrey Michael Samudosky has been creating elaborate figural works from a variety of Pacific Northwest trees since he started his company JMS Wood Sculpture in 1998. One of his most renowned projects is a replica of an Enteroctopus dofleini, or Giant Pacific Octopus, carved from a fallen Redwood given to him by Redwood Burl. The cephalopod’s tentacles curve and twist their way across areas that Samudosky left natural, including the entire back of the trunk which gives the illusion that the octopus is on top of the tree, rather than a part of it.
Born and raised in Shelton, Connecticut, Jeff studied art and photography in high school. After graduating, he traveled the continent as an Outward-Bound instructor, ice climber, and whitewater rafting guide. In Jackson Hole, Wyoming he trained as an Alpine mountaineering guide and became certified as a wilderness emergency medical technician.
Interestingly, Samudosky began his journey with chainsaw art after a snowboarding accident left him without feeling in his legs for eight months. After regaining his mobility, he decided to conquer his fears and begin snowboarding again. It was during a trip to the mountains in Vermont that he spied wood carvings on the side of the road, and from there he taught himself the artistic skill.
Now, the carving is his full-time career. Focusing on animals and Native American motifs, some pieces have taken up to four years in order to reach his desired level of perfection.
Sources:
- https://youtu.be/3iHkfpIOFT0
- https://www.jmswoodsculpture.com/
- https://twistedsifter.com/2017/09/artist-transforms-fallen-redwood-into-giant-octopus/
- https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2017/09/carved-redwood-octopus/
- https://mymodernmet.com/jms-sculpture-octopus-chainsaw-carving/
- https://us-east-2.console.aws.amazon.com/polly/home/SynthesizeSpeech
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