"Chain-saw Artist Makes Pieces of Dead Wood Come Alive"

BY SHANNON PEASE
spease@herald.com

ALL THE RAGE: Chainsaw Rage owner Brandon Messex had an advertisement for his business tattooed on his back. He creates art from recycled pieces of black olive, mahogany and Norfolk pine.

Chain-saw rage. Sounds like the latest horror flick, but it's actually what 30-year-old Brandon Lee Messex calls his craft. After all the rage, the end product is an intricate piece of art. About four years ago, Messex, then a truck driver for a furniture store, spotted a man on the side of the street
carving pelicans out of wood. That's where he got his idea."I quit my job that day," he said. "I borrowed a chain saw and gave it a shot."

He started making a living in the Keys by using recycled wood from trees like black olive, mahogany and Norfolk Island pine to sculpt into artwork for businesses and individuals. You might think by looking at his finely detailed custom carvings that he uses a chisel. Messex says he uses only a vision and three sizes of chainsaws, and sometimes a photo.

"I'm lucky finding my niche in life," he says. "I like to make people happy and doing it is something I enjoy." Messex, who moved his studio to Hollywood a couple of months ago, is willing to display his talent to a crowd. He recently appeared at Flamingo Gardens for the opening of its sixth annual spring and garden show. What draws people in could be the noise, the method, or the timeliness of
the whole process. Messex can make a piece of dead wood come alive in a couple of hours or less.

Messex is eager to please. If customers request it, he'll make it. You don't have to supply the wood. He has plenty waiting to be etched. Carvings range from $50 to $300 or more, depending on the size of the job. His portfolio is extensive and features mermaids, sailfish, spirit faces, bears, and pelicans. But he's confident he can carve anything. The more challenging, he says, the better.

"It's good for families that have had a tree for a long time," said Messex. Messex will carve small pieces of wood up to trees several feet high Although he does this full time, he says, "I don't do it for the money. It makes people smile. It's all about karma."

Robbie Bruns said he had to remove a couple of palm trees after finding out they were diseased. "I hated to lose them," he said. That's when he met Messex, who etched out a dolphin and manatee out of the base of the trees that surround the pool in his backyard. The manatee, sporting a top hat and shades, still plays a tree-type role, supporting a hammock around his neck. "I can see people going down the road stop and look," Bruns said. "It's pretty neat."