Sculptor Paul Stark is busy at work carving a life-sized canoe and its human inhabitants out of a trunk of Eastern White Pine. Buzzing away with a chainsaw, sanders and other tools, Stark is already attracting the attention of passersby with his sculpture, which will eventually be displayed in front of Fort William Henry in Lake George, New York to commemorate the region’s role in the French and Indian War.
A Lake George couple hired the Oregon-based sculptor to complete the project, and he’s been hard at work for eight hours a day since late May. It’s expected to be complete this month. Stark chose a trunk of Eastern White Pine from the Catskill Mountains because its length, girth and optimal sculptability made it ideal for the 24-foot-long work of art, according to the Post Star.
The section used for the sculpture was about 29 feet long and measured about 4 1/2 feet in diameter at its widest point. The length of wood weighed about 14,000 pounds before carving.
Stark said this has probably been the most difficult piece he has ever worked on because of its intricate detail, with six heads that are turned in different directions.
“I’ve never done a piece with human figures and interactions between characters this way,” he said.
Photograph by Michael Goot – read the whole article at The Post Star.
