By Stacey Bodger
ROTORUA - Mother of two Deborah Lloyd has conquered her fear of chainsaws and started a hobby which is decorating the city.
Mrs Lloyd spent years watching her husband carving figures and artwork from logs of wood with a chainsaw.
She longed to try her hand at carving but was
terrified of chainsaws until a friend forced her to hold one and showed her how to carve.
Now the 1.56m sales assistant spends most weekends in her backyard with a 046 Magnum chainsaw and log of macrocarpa or redwood not much smaller than herself.
It has taken her three years to grow strong enough to manoeuvre the saw correctly, but now Mrs Lloyd can complete Maori designs, crocodiles or Mexican characters in about three hours.
Her work is housed in Rotorua motels and hotels, the Redwood Forest information centre and at her work, Anchormart.
Mrs Lloyd said her two sons "think mum is pretty mad" but were willing critics of her work.
"It's a bit of a unique hobby for a mum to have.
"I'm often hired to carve at fairs or outside shops, and some people spend hours watching to see a carving from start to finish."
Mrs Lloyd has won many carving competitions.
She said she achieved the finer details of her work by using a point tip on her chainsaw.
"People are astounded by the detail of the carvings because I can make them very true to life.
"I don't work with sketches," she said.
"I was good at art at school so I just get a picture in my mind, get the chainsaw going and don't stop until I'm done."
