Tuscaloosa Stump Carving Gets 1.3M+ Views on TikTok

Longleaf pines may be the state tree of Alabama, but they can still be a bit of an eyesore.

That's where chainsaw artist Chad Gainey comes in.

A former agriculture teacher from Florida, Gainey has been turning stumps into art for the past twelve years.

Gainey, who is partnered with power equipment company Husqvarna, traveled to Tuscaloosa recently for his newest sculpture. What he created will be appreciated by every Alabama fan.

The plan for the carving started in the spring when the client talked to Gainey at an expo.

"He told me he had some giant pine trees in his yard that needed to be taken down," said Gainey. "People don't realize that a lot of times I'll be carving a tree that's destined to come down anyway," he explained.

Gainey ended up carving a stump right in the client's front lawn. "We talked back and forth for a bit about what design would be best," said Gainey.

Eventually, they landed on the one and only African bull elephant.

"[The client] is a UA alum, so an elephant seemed like the perfect idea," said Gainey.

Here's a TikTok video of the whole process:

@chadgaineysculpture Elephant stump sculpture in Tuscaloosa, AL #husqvarna #husqvarnapartner #chainsawcarving #chainsawart #chainsawcarver #chainsawartist #woodcarver #art #sculpture #elephant #rolltide #rolltideroll #alabama #crimsontide #tuscaloosa #chadgaineysculpture ♬ Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd

It may be a little fast to catch in the video, but Gainey explained he uses a variety of chainsaw sizes to complete a sculpture like this.

Gainey said that on a difficulty scale of 1-10, this sculpture was probably about a three or four. "This one was difficult because I hadn't carved a whole lot of elephants."

The results speak for themselves.

See Chad Gainey's website and Facebook for more.