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Season 1 of A Cut Above is set to premiere on October 3, 2022. The show will feature 12 carvers from all around the world who will compete neck-to-neck in some of the toughest carving battles in each episode.
The show will be hosted by Golden Globe nominee Adam Beach. Joining the judges' panel will be world-renowned Canadian chainsaw carver, Ryan Cook; and esteemed U.K. sculptor, Katharine Dowson.
The official synopsis of A Cut Above reads:
"A competition like no other, A CUT ABOVE puts 12 of the best chainsaw carvers from across the world to the ultimate test of creativity, strength, and skills, as they turn ordinary logs into extraordinary works of art. Hosted by Golden Globe®-nominee Adam Beach, each episode sees the carvers compete to win the Quick and Master Carve challenges while racing against the clock, in hopes of avoiding weekly elimination."
Details explored of the contestants participating in A Cut Above
1) Andrew Mallon
Giving up a 15-year career as a carpenter and an opportunity to be a carpenter at the White House, Mallon followed his passion to become a full-time chainsaw artist.
The A Cut Above contestant is drawn to carpentry with a passion for creating and building things. He gets his biggest strength from his two daughters who inspire him to push boundaries and never give up striving for the best.
2) Aya Blaine
Born in Osaka, Japan, Blaine started carving and competing in Japan in 2004 and is now an accomplished professional carver with 17 years of experience under her belt. She started competing internationally before an auto accident in 2017 nearly ended her career.
For more than 3 years, Blaine was unable to carve because of a chronic neck injury and nearly gave up carving completely. But she was able to return to carving in 2020 and is eager to get her career back on track.
3) Bongo Love
Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Bongo Love started carving soapstone and serpentine with handmade tools at an early age.
He started carving with a chainsaw in 2006 at one of Colorado’s most prestigious competitions and continues to compete, placing in many of the world’s biggest carving events.
4) Brigitte Lochhead
Instantly falling in love with the chainsaw and medium of wood, Lochhead quit her career as a Kindergarten teacher to attend art school. Lochhead dedicates 30-40 hours a week to carving, while still maintaining a day job.
She was introduced to the art of carving by her father John Miller, and the Vancouver-native has been carving ever since.
5) Chris Wood
In 1999, he turned a lifelong love of art and woodcarving into a career. Since then, Wood has worked on hundreds of creative projects around the world.
As a child with dyslexia, Wood empathizes with and provides inspiration for disadvantaged children and adults using art as a powerful, creative tool.
6) Jesse Toso
Jesse Toso credits his father, a carpenter, with his love and appreciation for wood. He picked up a chainsaw for the first time at the Campbell River Carving Competition, where he won first place in the amateur category. Toso has been carving ever since.
7) Joel Palmer
Before he started as a professional chainsaw carver eight years ago, he was a man of many trades including a professional musher, zip lining and sea kayaking tour guide. Redirecting his focus to his chainsaw carving career, Palmer received international recognition, placing in the top three in most competitions.
8) John Hayes
People began to notice John’s work when he first carved a very old and large tree located on the grounds of Fenor church. He transformed it into what is known locally as the Angel Tree.
John has since then gone on to create lots of other fantastic creations from tree trunks which are now getting attention worldwide. Most notably his world record-breaking creation Dragonslayer, the longest-ever sculpture from a single piece of wood.
9) Junior Henderson
Henderson began chainsaw carving 17 years ago, and he continues to evolve his skill set of traditional work using chainsaws instead of hand tools. He began his journey into the world of carving at the age of 12 with his uncle, Bill Henderson.
The A Cut Above contestant wants to help pave the way for young Indigenous artists. To have the opportunity to represent his people in this competition is the most important thing to him.
10) Ryan Villiers
In 2017, after watching a carving show, he took a risk and quit his job as a mechanic to pursue his new passion full-time.
A year into his carving career, Villers completed a memorial piece for the Humboldt Broncos after the 2018 tragedy. This was a highly emotional piece for Villers, but one that he is most proud of.
He has been carving for five years now and credits carving with helping him go through a a cancer-scare.
11) Sam Bowsher
Sam Bowsher is part of Scottish chainsaw carving royalty, with his father Pete Bowsher being a legend in the international carving world. The A Cut Above contestant has been a professional carver for two years and his dream is to grow into a great carver like the ones he idolized growing up.
12) Sylvia Itzen
A contemporary artist with a distinct style, Sylvia Itzen is a revered German modernist artist, with a passion for creating abstract sculptures that spring from the natural forms she discovers in wood.
The A Cut Above contestant loves to listen to rock and metal music while carving, pushing her creative streak, which has been a successful 20-year career.
Viewers can watch the premiere of A Cut Above on October 3 on Discovery +.
