Funworld November 2009

The Lead Horse

Carousel carver Bud Ellis passes his talent to the next generation
by Jodi Helmer

BUD ELLIS CAN BRING A BLOCK OF WOOD TO LIFE using nothing more than a few hand tools and his imagination.

Ellis spent countless evenings chopping and carving late into the night to transform angular pieces of wood into whimsical carousel animals. The colorful horses he was creating were a reminder of his childhood and allowed Ellis to express his passion for art. He had no idea that his extracurricular projects would lead him to a new career and spur widespread interest in an unusual art form.

“I used to ride the carousel at the zoo in Bloomington, Indiana, when I was a kid,” explains Ellis. “I can remember sitting on the horse when the bell rang, and the carousel would start to move; I fell in love with carousels and the idea of making one someday.”

Inherent Skill
Ellis began carving carousel animals in 1984 while he was working as a high school art teacher in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He used the classroom as his studio, carving late into the night after all of the students and teachers had gone home. It didn’t take long before he realized he had a knack for turning shapeless blocks of wood into whimsical animals. Ellis carved quietly in his classroom for four years before teachers started to take notice. One asked him for lessons and Ellis obliged. More requests followed and Ellis realized he was onto something. He rented a space and began teaching others the art of carving carousel animals. “I had a carousel horse that I had carved in the window of the shop,” he says. “People would stop in and ask if they could buy it. I’d tell them, ‘No, but I can show you how to make one.’”

Though Ellis has a graduate degree in fine arts from the University of Tennessee, he had no experience with woodcarving. In fact, he was attempting to make a living as a painter specializing in wildlife scenes but was struggling to get his work into galleries. “I started carving horses for the fun of it,” he recalls. “The second I said, ‘To heck with the art world, I’m going to carve horses,’ my career took off!”

A Knack for Teaching
In 1988, Ellis resigned from his post as a high school art teacher to teach carving full-time. He loved watching with delight as his students used mallets and chisels to turn blocks of basswood into colorful horses. Though he was engrossed in teaching others his skill, Ellis never lost sight of his dream to build a carousel. In the early 1980s, he began taking steps to make his dream a reality.

Ellis approached the city of Chattanooga to gauge officials’ interest in building a carousel and was surprised when they were eager to be part of the project. After some negotiation, it was agreed that a carousel—with animals carved by Ellis and his students—would be erected at Coolidge Park on the banks of the Tennessee River.

Ellis carved the lead horse, and his students carved the other 55 animals. It took 12 years to complete the work, but the first time the bell rang and the carousel roared to life in 1999, there was no question it was worthwhile.

“It was the highlight of my life. It took all I had not to cry,” he says now 10 years later. “It was so exciting to work on something that monumental; it’s a work of art that will be turning long after I’m gone.

“So many people said, ‘You’ll never get this done,’” Ellis adds. “There were so many negative comments while we were working on this, but we did it and no matter how many more carousels I’m a part of, I’ll never top the feeling of finishing the first one.”

Over the past decade, up to 40,000 people have lined up to ride the carousel at Coolidge Park, according to the City of Chattanooga Department of Parks and Recreation. “[The] whimsical carousel creatures are what make our Chattanooga attractions even more exciting,” says Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield. “Bud’s work is enjoyed and admired by children and adults alike.”

The University of Carving
During the time Ellis was working tirelessly to bring the carousel to life, he was also hard at work on another project: creating a formal carousel-carving school.

After more than a decade of offering lessons, Ellis decided to open an official school dedicated to the art. Horsin Around (www.horsin-around.net) opened its doors in 1998 in a shop behind Ellis’ home just outside Chattanooga. It’s one of the few carousel-carving schools in the country and has drawn students from all over the world.

Ellis teaches up to 15 students per day how to carve their own carousel animals. In the decade since he opened Horsin Around, more than 500 students have passed through his classroom, carving some 450 animals. Students come from across the United States, Canada, and even England. They are lawyers, police officers, flight attendants, and corporate executives. He’s even taught members of the CIA how to carve carousel animals. Some are artists, and others have never attempted a creative project. All of the students that enter his classroom have something in common: a love of carousels. “They all remember riding carousels as children and love that they can come in and carve a carousel animal without any experience,” Ellis says.

Students who can’t make the trip to his Tennessee school learn traditional carving methods from his book, “Carousel Animal Carving: Patterns & Techniques.” “Bud Ellis did an amazing job of awakening the carousel industry,” says Bette Largent, president of the National Carousel Association. “[His work] continues to show how carousels can be created.”

The Real Deal
At a time when most carousels are constructed out of fiberglass and are mere replicas of classic carousel animals, Ellis is still making the real deal—wooden animals carved by hand. Each animal takes up to 400 hours to complete. According to the National Carousel Association, only 66 wood carousels have been erected in the United States since 1980; two of them were carved at Horsin Around—the Coolidge Park carousel and the endangered species carousel that was erected at the Warner Park Zoo in Chattanooga in 2008. The installation of the carousel at the zoo coincided with the 10th anniversary of Horsin Around.

For as long as there is an interest in wooden carousel animals, Ellis will continue to carve. Now 73, Ellis has not slowed down. He still spends countless hours helping students hone the careful movements required to carve their own carousel animals. When asked about retirement, Ellis just laughs: “You retire to get out of a job you hate. There is no reason for me to retire; I spend every day doing exactly what I want to do.”

Jodi Helmer is a freelance writer in Charlotte, North Carolina. Learn more about her work at www.jodihelmer.com.

Bud Ellis likes riding carousels as much as fixing them. He maintains the Coolidge Park carousel and spends several mornings a week touching up the paint and repairing scratches. It’s part of his job to ride the carousel to make sure it’s functioning properly. Ellis loves these mornings when he is alone with the animals. His late wife, Johnny, carved the giraffe on the carousel. “I talk to her quietly when I’m touching up the giraffe,” he says. “Other people look at a carousel and see the animals; I see the people. For me, each of these animals represents the person who carved it.”