Isaac Trujillo: The Wood Whisperer of Cedar Crest

The scent of Ponderosa pine and Juniper often hangs heavy and sweet in the air and it’s a familiar cologne to Cedar Crest’s Isaac Trujillo. For over a decade, the roar and rattle of his chainsaw had been less a tool of destruction and more a creative extension of his will, transforming felled logs into living sculptures.

Now 36, carving wasn’t just his job; it is the rhythm of his life, a choice that had once seemed impossible as he operates his wood carving business Wonder in Wood.

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The Spark of a New Life

Isaac’s journey to becoming a full-time chainsaw artist was a classic tale of a hobby blossoming into a calling. Before the wood claimed him, the comfortable, predictable world of electrical work was his domain. “I was an electrician for a company in town,” he recalled, the memory tinged with the faint, metallic scent of a different life. It was a secure living, a far cry from the leap of faith required to rely solely on the language of wood.

But the wood began to talk louder. What started as a casual hobby—a respite from wiring diagrams and circuits—quickly garnered attention. “I started getting so much interest in it from coworkers, friends, whoever, wanting custom orders.” This growing demand was the spark. It illuminated a path, not just a hobby, but a viable business. It wasn’t just his own belief that pushed him; it was the chorus of others: “Hey, you should do this. You should just do this full time.” This external validation became a powerful inspiration, giving him the confidence to take that “big jump,” a jump that also required some convincing to get his wife, Angelica (married for 15 years, with two kids and one on the way), to be “okay with it.”

VIDEO–Isaac Trujillo was just a child when he learned about chainsaw wood carving, and he tells us about the experience that led to his profession.

For the past six or seven years, the jump had been a sustained flight. His tools were now his chainsaws—lighter, battery-powered Stihls that, thankfully, saved his career after peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage from vibration) threatened to end it about five years ago. That scary period, where going back to electrical work seemed imminent, only solidified his gratitude for the new technology that allowed him to “carve all day.”

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A Canvas for the Community

Isaac’s artistry was now deeply woven into the fabric of his hometown, Cedar Crest. He found immense satisfaction in creating large, high-visibility pieces for local businesses. The Trail Rider Pizza project, a major commission, was a testament to the community’s trust in him.

“It is nerve-wracking,” he admitted, especially for a large piece “that’s going to be seen by potentially thousands of people.” It has to be great; it has to stand out. His confidence, he explained, came from the community’s own belief in his ability.

The Trail Rider job was multifaceted. It began with creating a new sign for their rebranding, featuring their logo: a backpacking bear with a fork in his hand. But the project grew. For their new location, they needed a centerpiece—a bar. Originally considering concrete, they reached out to Isaac, wanting something with a warm, natural wood feel.

This part of the job brought in his family. Isaac is collaborating with his brother-in-law, Caleb Chavez, an expert in epoxy work. The bar is a massive undertaking: a river table with an epoxy pour running through the middle, aptly named “The River.” To make it truly unique, the Trail Rider team is gathering “cool memento type things to put in the epoxy,” making the bar a repository of local history and character.

Custom work, like the commission for a client named Karyn who wanted several bears interacting with each other, was a collaborative dance. He meets with the customers, surveys their space and their logs, and they “kind of work together and figure out a cool design.” He respects the customer’s vision but always adds his artistic input, resulting in smooth, unique designs.

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The Call of the Wood

For Isaac, every piece of wood isn’t just a material; it’s a pre-written story waiting to be released. When he’s working on a custom order, he heads to his “wood pile” to find the piece that will work for the design. But for his personal, shop-bound art, the inspiration is solely “the wood.”

“I’ve got probably hundreds of pieces laying around the yard that I already know I’m going to carve into them. They’ve already got the shape for, let’s say a raven sitting on a branch, so I know that piece is going to be a raven sitting on a branch.”

This deep connection to the material explains why he has an almost magnetic attraction to wood he sees in nature. He often visits a friend’s property that backs up to the Sandia Mountains, a “blessing” that offers a plethora of Juniper, Elm, and Ponderosa Pine. Juniper, with its easy carving properties and beautiful, varied grain, is a favorite. He notes the tension and character of the Juniper makes it a very sought-after wood.

He’s learned which woods fight back and which surrenders. Oak, though beautiful and long-lasting, is “rock hard,” takes forever to carve, and requires constant blade sharpening “probably the hardest wood we have around here.” The pine, though a local staple, weathers quickly, whereas Cedar and Elm hold up well against the elements.

A piece’s life doesn’t end when the carving is done. Knowing that wood will weather and crack—especially pine—he offers a lasting commitment to his customers. He’ll return, often two or three times over the years, to fill the cracks, recarve, and reseal the work, keeping the sculptures looking fresh.

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Dreams and DNA Strands

Isaac’s most complicated project speaks to the technical challenge and precision he can command with a powerful tool. It was a commission from a retired science teacher—a six-foot DNA strand carved from an 18-inch diameter log. Hollowing out the inside and precisely cutting the rungs to exact specifications was a tough but ultimately rewarding challenge.

Looking ahead 20 years, his artistic dream is about complete immersion: becoming “even more infiltrated into the community,” but on a grander scale. His ultimate goal is a full-build collaboration, to theme an entire home.

“I’d love to go into a whole build out of a cabin,” he mused, painting a mental picture of a log home with “thousands of carvings in there, carving their wood, mantle, their fireplace, mantle, all their posts, their beams.” He dreams of huge beams with bears crawling up them, owls tucked into the logs, and eagles perched on stair banisters—a complete, immersive, sculpted scene.

Closer to the present, Isaac and three other local artists are cementing their presence with a new gallery space. This “Co-op” style shop, which is seeing a soft opening in early December, provides a permanent home base for local art, a place for people to see, touch, and experience the unique connection between the artist and the wood. After carving for years in a dirt lot and even a stint in Madrid, Isaac is back where his heart is, in Cedar Crest, displaying his life’s work alongside others like the newest artist, William Bock, a renowned curator and artist.

Isaac Trujillo, the former electrician who once hopped trains and hitchhiked across the country, has returned to his roots. Now, with a chainsaw in hand and the support of his community and family, he continues to shape the essence of the mountains, one masterpiece at a time.

Wonder in Wood is located at 12418 N HWY 14 in Cedar Crest, and you will often see Trujillo outside working at his craft. If you interested in a possible commission of Trujillo’s work you can call him at (505) 264-5838.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Stay tuned as we bring you more information about the gallery project’s early December opening and artist William Bock.