96 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 7.16
STUDIO
SHOT
Photo by Chris Witzke
"My grandfather told
me once to learn as
many trades as I can
and I'll never be hungry,"
Joe Autry says. For the
past 20 years he's been
sculpting — metal, ice,
wood. He has carved
and stained dead tree
trunks throughout the
city, from Parkway
Village to the Highlands
and Prospect. "I think
all sculptors should
have a chainsaw in their
toolbox," he says. "It just
makes sense: repurpose
a tree instead of just
grinding it up." Autry
uses a Husqvarna
chainsaw to transform
trees into a two-story
red squid, a My Morning
Jacket tribute with an
owl and a green eye,
a hexagonal hive with
bees larger than your
head. Wood stains turn
dragon scales green.
"I just moved to New
Albany and bought a
house and put a big
fence up. I'm carving my
fence — like a big fsh, a
lotus fower and other
fowers. Quite beautiful,
actually," he says.
— Jenny Kiefer