Wood You Look At That! Kirby Stanforth Crafts Wood Sculptures at County Fair

ZANESVILLE, Ohio- If you’ve attended the Muskingum County Fair this week you may have noticed a buzz in the air. Not the buzz of excitement and fun, but the sound of a buzzing chainsaw right when you walked in through the front gates.

That sound would be Kirby Stanforth, a wood carver whose been carving wood sculptures for 22 years and attending the Muskingum County Fair intermittently for 20 years now.

“The things that you’re seeing here is basically what I call my ‘staples’, the best sellers, the easiest things to do quick, people like to watch you start something, finish something. So I don’t like getting into big projects,” Kirby Stanforth, a wood carver at the Muskingum County Fair stated.

He not only makes these beautiful intricate wood sculptures for his own entertainment, but also to sell them to an owner who appreciates small town local decorations that are top quality. His wood sculptures range from $25 to $300 depending on the sculpture.

“Well about 22 years ago, I had a couple good friends that did this. And it just very much interested me, and they showed me a few things, and it was just kind of a lot of trial and error, and just stuck with it,” Stanforth said.

If you’re interested in buying any of Kirby Stanforth’s wood carvings you can visit his booth near the main walk-in entrance at the Muskingum County Fair. You can also reach him via email at kirbystanforth@yahoo.com even after the fair to either buy pre-existing work or commission a sculpture from him.