(wooden castle clicking) (lighthearted orchestral music) (lighthearted orchestral music continues) (wooden castle clicking) (wood thudding) - Collaborating with nature is part of my job.

Respecting what nature gave me already.

I just try to bring the best out of it.

This is kind of showtime for me when I get to peel off the bark and see what it truly looks like on the inside.

And these natural bumps, I mean, this is going to be a beautiful piece.

Let's see.

There's a few little bugs here.

Sometimes bugs are really beautiful because they leave nice channels that they create their own texture.

(chainsaw rumbling) I work a lot with spalted woods.

Spalting is the process of decay, so it starts out with a fungus that invades the wood.

Very often it's black, but orange, yellow.

The burl is this beautiful gnarly growth on the side of a tree.

Whenever I hear a chainsaw, I hop on the bicycle, I hop in the car, I see what's being cut.

People love to support artists, so I get asked all the time, "Oh, I have wood at home.

Can I give you some wood?"

My name is Uli, Uli Kirchler.

I'm a professional woodworker.

I get to do what I love.

(saw buzzing) So often, I go to sleep excited when I start a piece and I can't wait to get up and finish it the next day.

So many people, their first question is, "Is this laser cut?"

The new thing is 3D printing.

(classical guitar music) For the castles, I cut them on a scroll saw.

I love that it is a 200 plus year old tool.

Without a window, there's no life.

It feels so magical once I cut these windows out.

Cutting the castles, it's all about angles.

I create conical wedges.

Because they're tapered, they fly up, but they don't fly out.

By cutting them at an angle, they get stuck and it's the taper and it is friction in the end that holds the pieces.

So shake and friction will hold them.

A tap will release that friction and they'll collapse.

Imagination happens because I work.

I don't think it happens on its own.

Either it's a mistake, it's a cut, it's something different that I see it, but I really think that's where the thought is born.

(slow soft music) When I feel my heart pound, I know this is such a beautiful piece, I cannot mess up right now.

And to me that's the hard part, but it's the most beautiful challenge that I have when I feel it in my chest.

And the success, the relief, when it all works out, (slow soft music) it's just absolute joy.

The best thing of finishing a piece is the oiling process.

(slow soft music) All right.

It's always satisfying seeing what came out of this piece of wood.

(slow soft music) (wooden castle clicking) I was born and raised in the German-speaking part of Italy.

(soft guitar music) I started my one-man band in my 20s, and I did it for about 10 years.

There's a clear skin on the back of a drum, that's where my clothing was, all my personal belongings.

Busking taught me that I don't need to fit in.

I can express myself the way, the way I like to.

Then I realized there are no boundaries.

In college, I set out to become a lawyer.

People threw money at me all of a sudden, and that kind of messed with my idea of becoming a lawyer.

I fell in love.

I came to United States, decided to settle down, and moved in with my in-laws.

I knew I had to find something for me to do to raise a family.

I asked my in-law, "Can I fix the bathroom?"

And I realized I could use my hands, and I really found joy with it.

I signed up for a woodworking class.

The telescoping castles happened after building puzzle boxes for over 10 years.

It had moving elements, and I shook something up, a letter, a heart fall out.

(slow soft music) I have a beautiful balance in my life of very quiet, lonely time, which allows me to be in my own space, in my own head.

Whenever I step out in the shop, I don't focus on my problems, I focus on a piece of wood.

It's the best therapy.

(shoppers swooning) - Whoa, what?

- That's so cool.

(laughs) - Shut up.

- [Uli] It's so powerful being out on the show.

I was a one-man band.

I'm a different performer right now with my castles.

The love that people show me, it's absolutely incredible.

- What?

Oh, that's sick.

- [Uli] I really fill up with energy and I bring that back into my shop.

Even though I'm excited about certain pieces, I feel a little, a little sorrow seeing them go.

I hope that the pieces always bring joy and always bring that smile.

(light upbeat music) (no audio) (no audio) - [Announcer] "Oregon Art Beat" shares the stories of Oregon's amazing artists.

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