Griffon Ramsey

Griffon E. Ramsey (née O'Connell;[2] born April 23, 1980) is an American chainsaw carving artist known for her pop-culture wood sculptures which have appeared at the Australian Chainsaw Carving Championships and the Butler Chainsaw Carving Invitational.[3][4][5] Chip Chats magazine described her as a "world-famous" artist with an, "edgy and bold style"[6] while VICE and Uproxx called her a "rock star of the art world" and noted her status as a female in a largely male-dominated field.[7][8]

Griffon Ramsey
Ramsey at RTX 2011
Born (1980-04-23) April 23, 1980
Eugene, Oregon, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationArtist
MovementChainsaw art
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2005; div. 2018)​
Children1
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2011–present
Subscribers75.9 thousand[1]
(July 10, 2020)
Total views4 million[1]
(July 10, 2020)
Last updated: July 10, 2020
Websitehttp://griffonramsey.com

Several of her YouTube videos have attracted attention online, including her sculpting an Eastern red cedar into Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy, which accumulated over 115,000 views in three days.[9] As of August 2019, her channel has over 4 million video views and 79,000 subscribers.[10]

Background

Griffon Ramsey grew up in Oregon and was inspired by the carvings she saw as a child, including those of her grandfather.[11] She graduated summa cum laude in 2008 from Texas State University with a BFA in Theatre and began chain-saw sculpting in 2011.[12] Her first chainsaw was a gift from her husband, Geoff Ramsey.[13] She was mentored by Disneyland parks wood designer R.L. Blair.[7] Ramsey has stated that Griffon is not her birth name, having legally changed it while considering transitioning. She has since refused to acknowledge or disclose what her birth name is as she no longer feels a connection to that name and prefers Griffon.

Prior to wood sculpting, Ramsey designed and painted playground markings at elementary schools in the Austin Independent School District in order to promote active learning.[14] The project was done in collaboration with Burl Norville and the University of Texas School of Public Health to, "utilize playground stencils to encourage physical activity."[15]

Ramsey worked for several years at Rooster Teeth Productions, during which time she created the video series Pajamachievements for Achievement Hunter, wrote and co-created Rooster Teeth Comics with artist Luke McKay, oversaw production design work and acted on series such as Immersion and RT Shorts, and was a frequent guest on the Rooster Teeth Podcast.[16][17][18][19] She announced her departure from the company in October 2011.[20]

In 2013, Ramsey was the Production Designer on the indie film Grow Up, Tony Phillips. In 2014, Ramsey, alongside her then-husband, Geoff Ramsey, and friend Gavin Free, starred in the Rooster Teeth series Happy Hour.[21] In 2016, Ramsey starred in the Achievement Hunter Dungeons & Dragons web series Heroes and Halfwits. In 2017, Ramsey would play The Griffon in the Rooster Teeth web series The Eleven Little Roosters.

In January 2017, it was announced that she was teaming up with her husband for a new monthly podcast, titled Relationship Goals, about modern relationships and love, starting on Valentine’s Day (February 14).[22] In November 2017, Ramsey confirmed on Twitter that she and Geoff Ramsey were in the process of a divorce.[23]

Filmography

Web series
YearTitleRoleNotes
2008 Red vs. Blue Dexter Grif Voice, one episode
2010–2011 Immersion Herself
2010–2011 Rooster Teeth Shorts Herself
2014–2016 Happy Hour Herself
2016–present Heroes and Halfwits Orma
2017 The Eleven Little Roosters The Griffon

Podcasts
YearTitleNotes
2010–2011 Rooster Teeth Podcast
2016 Off Topic
2016 Always Open
2017 Relationship Goals

Works
Ramsey working on a carving before an audience at RTX 2015.

Griffon Ramsey uses a variety of chainsaws to create a "rustic" look and various angle grinders, sanders, and Dremels for details and likes a combination of burning, staining, and painting to emphasize nuances.[8]

Ramsey takes suggestions for carvings from fans via her Twitter feed.[9] She edits videos which she posts to her YouTube channel, highlighting the process behind each individual carving and explaining the motivations behind each piece.[12]

Ramsey draws inspiration from, "street artists, folk artists, wood carvers, tinkerers, and in general, the self-taught, her work comes from a compulsive need to rearrange her environment and manifest the reality she would like to see."[24] Of her work, Gio Sasso commented, "Nobody thinks of a chainsaw as an elegant tool for fine detailed work but in the hands of Griffon it seems to be... Griffon is a fantastic artist in her own right."[25] When asked about what she finds interesting about chainsaw carving she responded, "beyond just what I can do with it— is that it’s also this performance art... it feels like there’s two different things happening at the same time. It’s the creation of the artifact or the byproduct of the experience."[7]

Her original carving of an archeologist finding a genie, titled Professor Morris Finds a Lamp, received praise from Butler Chainsaw Carving Invitational organizer Damian Skal and was the most complicated sculpture she had completed.[4][26]

In October 2011, her carving of the Crimson Omen logo from the Gears of War franchise attracted attention from multiple gaming sites and was called, "the most apropos Gears of War tribute ever" by Kotaku.[27][28]

In October 2014, her video of sculpting an Eastern red cedar into Groot, based on the tree-like character from Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, accumulated over 115,000 views in three days and was posted to many geek culture sites, including Gizmodo, io9 and Geekologie.[9][29][30][31][32][33] In November 2014, she drew attention for carving Elsa from Disney's Frozen after being inspired by her daughter's love of the character.[34][35][36] In December 2014, Ramsey was invited by Stihl to carve a special piece celebrating the company's 40th Anniversary.[37]

In January 2015 Ramsey participated in the Australian Chainsaw Carving Championships, carving a story book from The Neverending Story, for which she won the People's Choice Award.[3][38] In February 2015, she attracted attention within the gaming community for carving Majora's Mask, a life-sized replica of the facepiece from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.[39][40][41] In September 2015 Ramsey participated in the Scottish Open Chainsaw Carving Championships.[42]

References
  1. "About GriffonRamsey". YouTube.
  2. Always Open: Ep. 11 - Your Breasts are Crying for Them | Rooster Teeth, retrieved 2020-01-06
  3. Tapp, Jessica (13 January 2015). "Chainsaw-wielding competitors turn wood logs into art at Australian championship in Melbourne". ABC News. ABC Australia. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  4. Phillipps, Ed. "Talented Butler chainsaw artist will show off skills in annual invitational". triblive.com. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  5. "Griffon Ramsey Today interview". 9jumpin.com.au. Today. Archived from the original on 3 June 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  6. Hanson, Erika (November 2016). "Chainsaw artist Griffon Ramsey". Vol. 63, no. 6. National Wood Carvers Association. Archived from the original on 7 January 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  7. ROSENZWEIG, GREGG (27 July 2016). "This Visionary Chainsaw Carver Is A Rock Star Of The Art World". uproxx.com. Uproxx. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  8. LINDSAY, TAYLOR (20 August 2016). "This Chainsaw Carving Champion Is Cooler Than You". Vice - The Creators Project. Vice Media. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  9. Fechter, Joshua (8 October 2014). "Texas woman carves 'Guardians Of The Galaxy' sculpture with a chainsaw". mysanantonio. San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  10. "Griffon Ramsey". YouTube. 2011-04-07. Retrieved 2016-05-30.
  11. Wong, Donny. "The art of Griffon Ramsey". www.myfoxaustin.com. KTBC Fox 7. Archived from the original on 2015-06-03. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  12. Pelham, Alex. "Artist Griffon Ramsey carves pop culture sculptures out of wood". dailytexanonline. The Daily Texan. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  13. Fazio, Emily. "Chainsaw Artist and Creative Genius: Meet Griffon Ramsey". HGTV. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  14. Goodnow, Natalie (14 February 2012). "The Active Play Project: Getting Kids Moving". Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  15. "AUSTIN ISD ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS RECEIVE FUNDS FOR WELLNESS PROGRAM". Austin ISD Innovation. 20 February 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  16. "A Beginner's Guide to the Best Podcasts on the Web". HighSnobriety. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  17. Garcia, Jozef (3 August 2009). "Internets in Real Life (RvBTO 2009)". vimeo. RvBTO. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  18. Bolling, Ben; Smith, Matthew J. (Feb 12, 2014). It Happens at Comic-Con: Ethnographic Essays on a Pop Culture Phenomenon. McFarland. p. 120.
  19. Miller, Liz Shannon. "The Red Vs. Blue Guys Get Real With Immersion". gigaom.com. Gigaom. Archived from the original on 21 May 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  20. Ramsey, Griffon. "Transition". RoosterTeeth.com. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  21. "Roomba Death Match - Happy Hour #1". YouTube. RooosterTeeth. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  22. Weiss, Geoff (18 January 2017). "Rooster Teeth Unveils Slate Of 11 Talk Shows And Podcasts For 2017 (Exclusive)". www.tubefilter.com. Tube Filter. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  23. Ramsey, Griffon [@griffonramsey] (November 17, 2017). "Unfortunately it's true. Thank you all for showing respect and appropriate etiquette during our family's transition" (Tweet). Retrieved November 17, 2017 – via Twitter.
  24. "BIRD SILHOUETTES: Designed and Painted by Griffon Ramsey with Assistance by Burl Norville". Art Alliance Austin. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  25. Sasso, Gio (11 October 2014). "Groot, Carved With a Chainsaw". Chainsaw Journal. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  26. "Meet Griffon Ramsey, a chainsaw artist". www.wowzeto.com. Wowzeto. Archived from the original on 27 December 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  27. Narcisse, Evan (11 October 2011). "Chainsaw Art: The Most Apropos Gears of War Tribute Ever". Kotaku. Retrieved 9 May 2015. This YouTube video shows artist Griffon Ramsey giving a piece of wood the business and transforming it into the Crimson Omen, which is probably what trees see before they die.
  28. Patterson, Eric L. "Gears of War tribute—crafted with a chainsaw". www.egmnow.com. Electronic Gaming Monthly. Archived from the original on October 14, 2011. Artist Griffon Ramsey decided to craft a tribute to Gears of War 3 with a tool most fitting: A chainsaw.
  29. Domanico, Anthony. "I am Groot, made with a chainsaw". CNET. Retrieved 6 May 2015. Artist Griffon Ramsey carefully and skillfully carved a wooden sculpture of the lovable Groot from "Guardians of the Galaxy" out of Eastern Red Cedar.
  30. Chan, Casey. "Chainsaw Artist Transforms A Log Into Groot From Guardians Of The Galaxy". Gizmodo Australia. Gizmodo. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  31. Whitbrook, James (7 October 2014). "We have reached peak Groot Crafts: This one was carved with a Chainsaw". Toybox. io9. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  32. Paur, Joey (6 October 2014). "Chainsaw Artist Sculpts Groot from GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY". geektyrant.com. Geek Tyrant. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  33. "Appropriate: Chainsaw Artist Carves Groot From Stump". geekologie.com. Geekologie. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  34. Newton, Mark. "Sculptor Creates Elsa Sculpture... With a Chainsaw!". MoviePilot. Archived from the original on 21 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  35. Duncan, JJ. "Watch a Chainsaw Artist Carve Elsa from 'Frozen' Out of a Log". www.zimbio.com. Zimbio. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  36. Burlingame, Russ. "Sculptor Who Carved Groot Out of Wood Does Elsa From Frozen". comicbook.com. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  37. "Griffon Ramsey Chainsaw Carving for STIHL Inc.'s 40th Anniversary". STIHL USA. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  38. "Griffon Ramsey (USA) accepting her award from Lee Gooch (STIHL Australia) for 'Neverending Story'". www.stihl.com.au. Stihl Australia. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  39. Plunkett, Luke (4 March 2015). "Chainsaw vs Tree = Majora's Mask". Kotaku. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  40. Parrish, Robin. "Chainsaw Artist Creates Life-Sized Majora's Mask". Tech Times. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  41. Hilliard, Kyle. "Watch A Giant Piece Of Wood Turn Into Majora's Mask With The Help Of A Few Chainsaws". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  42. "Strongest female challenge to Carve Carr-Bridge title". BBC News. 31 August 2015. Archived from the original on December 11, 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2015. Alice Buttress, an artist from the event's home of Carrbridge, Nanci Hemming from Wales and American Griffon Ramsey have entered Saturday's event.
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