Wade Geddings’ art on the Cayce Riverwalk compels visitors to stop and touch it, even if that means stepping off a boardwalk to traipse through fallen leaves, so they can feel the grooves of a wooden alligator’s hide or the feathers of baby owls nestled in a log. Little do most people know that Wade creates his highly detailed works with a chainsaw, carving a semblance of life into dead trees. The Cayce Beautification Foundation this past year commissioned Wade to create a dozen woodland creatures from trees that have fallen near the Congaree River. Some sculptures, like an enormous, furry bear at the entrance to the Cayce Riverwalk, are visible and easily accessible; others, like a fanciful bobcat peeking out from behind a log, are harder to spot. The whimsy is intentional — Wade wants these particular pieces to appeal to children. The element of surprise is also important to him. “People seem to get such a kick out of coming out and seeing a new one,” he says. He has completed all but two of his current commissioned works, but is not sure what he will do next. On one beautiful afternoon, Wade finds a chip missing from the alligator’s snout and, concluding that someone purposefully kicked it, makes a mental note to fill it in later. A small stone, painted to look like a snowman, is perched between the alligator’s eyes, and Wade is so amused by this that he leaves it where it is, explaining that it is a social media phenomenon. Several people stroll by on the Riverwalk, and some, when they realize that he is the artist, stop to ask questions. Lots of folks are walking dogs, and Wade is a little wistful about seeing them since he first visited the Riverwalk with his own beloved Australian Shepherd, Cash, who died in 2016. But being able to create art on the Riverwalk is cathartic for him. Wade is particularly fond of his sculpture of owls overlooking the Congaree because of the way the sunlight filters through the trees. Wade used debris that was left behind by the 2015 flood. “Instead of them having to bring in equipment and destroying more to move this,” he recalls telling city representatives, “or just letting it lie here as a reminder of what happened, I could come out with my saws and turn it into art and take it back from the flood.” Born in Florence, Wade grew up in Monroe, North Carolina, and spent more than 15 years living in Colorado before returning to South Carolina two years ago to live near his only sibling, Kevin Geddings, the owner of Adventure Carolina on State Street in Cayce. Supplementing his artistic endeavors by working at his brother’s business and also helping a friend with appliance installation, Wade quickly became entwined in the small-town network of Cayce’s citizens. Driving past Sharpe Creations on Frink Street in 2016, Wade spotted a few large, upright logs behind a fence, so he stopped by to talk to artists John and Venetia Sharpe about carving something into one of them. The Sharpes invited him to give it a try, and Wade ended up making an imposing eagle flanked by a heron and some fish. John says that Wade described it as, “If God did a core sample of the swamp, this is what you would see.” John hopes that Wade’s art installation at the Riverwalk will lead to other local artists being invited to follow suit. John also was among a group that brokered a deal with Henry’s Restaurant & Bar on State Street to feature local art in its decor. Now the inviting eatery boasts an impressive collection of photographs, metal sculpture, paintings, and, on the massive bar, a fine art sculpture of an eagle flying up from the water with a fish in its talons. Wade carved this in the Colorado forest from a forked piece of lodgepole pine that naturally lent itself to becoming wings.