Getting to know the people in the community gives us opportunities to connect with the unique people that make up Rome, Georgia. So check out the spotlight on local artist and carver: Jeremy Smith.
While working on our blog post Discover Cedartown, Georgia, I learned about a sculpture carved out of tree trunks in Big Creek Park. I shared this find on Facebook, and it led me to the local artist who carved it, Jeremy Smith.
Jeremy started carving in October of 2012 when his wife, a teacher, asked him to help her by carving a pumpkin for her class. This wasn’t something he had just longed to do, and he didn’t have any experience with carving. He was just trying to help out his wife. It turned out, though, that he was good at it…really good!
He googled pumpkin carving and started watching the show Halloween Wars on the Food Network. These made pumpkin carvings look cool. His art projects continued to grow from there. Starting out, he carved about three pumpkins that year. He said none of them were particularly good compared to his work today. Still, that experience was enough to light the fire and make him realize he liked carving things.
From that point forward, he made carvings on whatever he could get his hands on that the little pumpkin carving tools he used would go through, such as candles, fruit, and potatoes. Eventually, he got tired of things melting or rotting, so he bought a $60 Dremel (handheld rotary tool), got a piece of wood from his neighbors’ firewood pile, and worked on it for four months. He turned that firewood into a piece of art that sold for a thousand dollars.
He invested the money from that wood carving in his first chainsaw, carving bar, and some safety equipment.
Jeremy displays his talents at fairs and festivals, allowing people to watch him carve. He sells his art, but the main draw at these venues is the entertainment of him carving. Jeremy also auctions off his pieces for charities and has raised thousands of dollars for different causes. He considers this his “superpower,”…turning art into cancer research and other causes which make the world a better place.
People also commission him to carve different types of art. Jeremy puts his all into every piece he does.
Chainsaw carving has led him to some unique experiences. One is a chainsaw carving festival held outside Macon at a pecan farm. The festival is called Chaptacular Chainsaw Carving Bash LLC. Last year, 50 carvers got together for the event and raised almost $200,000 for cystic fibrosis research. They do it every year and work together to carve a giant sculpture. For Jeremy, the best thing about this is giving back.
Carving has led him to discover other talents. Such as chalk drawing.
Recently, Jeremy has started sidewalk art with a pressure washer. He calls it Mista Spot.
Check out this video Jeremy created to showcase his Pressure Washing art!
Jeremy’s talents have brought him recognition in the local Rome-News Tribune, radio shows, and Fox 5 Atlanta. He has competed on the Food Network and hopes to do so again soon.
Jeremy calls his sculpting Other Level Sculptures. He chose this name because he says, “I’m on another level. I’m not better or worse. I’m just doing slightly different things than probably most people wouldn’t even think of.”
Jeremy hopes that in the future, he can do work with films. He has already used pumpkins to film a narrative short featured in the Rome International Film Festival. When he started carving, he learned that it helps to start at everything from a filming standpoint. To be an artist these days, you must promote yourself by taking good pictures of your work and displaying them to the public. The better the photos and videos are, the more people get excited about your work.
After starting with a pumpkin carving, Jeremy has traveled different avenues through the art world: from chainsaw carving to pressure washing and chalk drawings. He’s not intentionally moving on from one thing to another but building his portfolio of skills. He started with vegetables and still does them, but now he does so much more.
I look forward to what Jeremy’s future holds and how he is impacting the art world from Rome, Georgia.
Jeremy is so talented! You can see some of his wood carvings at the Rockmart Cultural Arts Center right now too as well as other wood carvings and wood turnings. The “Wonders of Wood” Exhibit is on view at the Arts Center until August 26, 2021. Rockmart Cultural Arts Center, 316 N. Piedmont Ave., Bldg. 300, Rockmart, Phone: 770-684-2707; Hours: Tues 1-7pm; Wed/Thurs/Sat 10-4 (closed Sun/Mon/Fri). All welcome. Free exhibit!