Stumped

Several months ago, I wrote about the demise of trees in our neighborhood and how we have had three very large trees go down on our property.  A huge oak, inches from the house, loomed large not only over the roof of our bedroom but also in my thoughts.  We finally, sadly, had it taken down, which broke my heart but also made it easier to sleep at night.

There is absolutely nothing that can replace or compare to a 100 plus year old oak tree BUT there are certain other compensations.  Jack and I decided to have a piece of art made from the remaining stump.  Jack’s first suggestion was a life size carving of himself, which I laughingly and quickly vetoed.  ( I think he was kidding).  His next suggestion was to have a chair carved out of it which I thought was a brilliant idea. When we had the tree removed, we asked that they leave the stump 5 1/2 feet tall.   A quick online search provided the names of several chainsaw artists but only one was of real interest to me.  I contacted him and Kary Kaley, Junior entered  our lives.

I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted from this stump and Kary did an outstanding job making my vision into a reality.  Basically, I wanted it to feel like you were sitting in the tree when you sat on this chair.  And I do! It is surprisingly comfortable and with the one, wide arm, you can happily sit there with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, looking at the garden and feeling a part of it.  Today I tried sitting in it with a grandchild and it’s plenty big enough.  I envision sitting with a child, reading.  Maybe A Tree Grows in Brooklyn?  The Giving Tree? The Lorax?

As Kary got deeper and deeper into the center of the tree, it became apparent that some sort of black rot had begun to set in, which made me immensely grateful that we had decided to take it down before it fell.

I think Kary would have happily carved a menagerie onto the tree chair and he certainly has the skills to do it!  We compromised with a family of owls.  We have a lot of owls in the neighborhood so adding a Mama owl at the top and two babies at the bottom seemed the right thing to do.

I know that this piece of carved art will continue to change as the tree stump ages.  We’re doing what we can to protect it from the elements, putting coat after coat of polyurethane on it.  I know we’ll probably lose the bark at some point but hopefully Kary will still be around to continue his work to make this leftover tree stump into a work of art.

I am so grateful for the tree itself and for the artistry and skills of Kary Kaley.  If you’re a tree hugger, come by and see what it feels like to be hugged by a tree in return.  It’s marvelous!

Laura

P.S.  If you have need of Kary’s services (and I highly recommend him!), send him an email:  kwkjrart@gmail.com