HUTCHINSON, Kan. (KAKE)- When you think of the Kansas State fair you might think of food, rides, games, or even shopping- but a hidden gem is on the outskirts of the fairgrounds- right next to the free ice cream. Chainsaw artists bring out crowds of excited fair goers. 

“It's the closest thing to actually handling a real lightsaber,” said T.J. Jenkins, a chainsaw artist. 

T.J. Jenkins has been carving at the Kansas State fair for 7 years, and he says it never gets old. 

“There's a lot of times when I carve, I shut my brain off and it just comes out. The carving just comes out and I'm amazed that I'm not even carving it. I don't know who is, I don't know what is. Maybe it's just because I've carved it so many times and it just comes out like naturally but that still amazes me today,” said Jenkins.

This year Jenkins has help from Clint Henik, another chainsaw artist. 

“Yea it's just fun hanging on to powerful tools and just making a piece of work out of it,” said Henik.

Both self taught artists tour the country putting on shows for audiences at 25-30 fairs and events a year.

“Oh, it's just a great feeling because like, to me, I just do this every day so I don't really….its just like another job. So it's nice to hear and see people's reactions, especially the start of a show whenever they first see just a plain log turned into a great piece of art,” said Henik. 

The pair will do chainsaw woodcarving shows four times a day everyday of the Kansas State fair. Each carving takes about 2 hours but some can take as long as 4-6 hours to complete.  Their plan is to make a total of 40 carvings and then they will be auctioned off on Saturday September 16, at 4:00PM and all the proceeds will go back to the fair. 

Colton Goans has come to the Kansas State fair every year since he was born, and his favorite part is the chainsaw artists.

“Think about like a tree and a branch, or like a whole log, it's crazy how they can design a whole like carving in a whole piece of wood. It's amazing to see the artistic ability they have and it's amazing to see the talent they have here coming all the way to Hutchinson Kansas,” said Colton Goans, a fair goer. 

If you have some extra time at the fair be sure to check out the chainsaw carving shows at 11:00AM, 1:00PM, 3:00PM, and 5:00 PM daily.