Farley Center Tree Carving Information Meeting for interested wood carvers

We are looking for 3-5 wood carvers, on a volunteer basis, to work on a Tree Carving project at the Farley Center. We will meet to discuss ideas for this project. If you know of wood carvers who would be interested in participating, please share this information with them.

Artist David Carlson will be the lead artist for this project.

Farley Center Tree Carving Information

Shedd, Caroline Farley and Dave Carlson met (10/18/17) to talk about the idea of carving on a fallen tree. Here is what we have come to so far.

Tree: The tree is a recently fallen oak. The standing portion it measures 8 feet in circumference and is about 10 feet tall. The bark is intact. Next to this is the fallen part of the tree, which is to be a climbing structure for kids. Oak is “green” for carving for about 1 to 2 years, meaning it is relatively easy to work with. As it ages, it gets harder.

Concept: We would like to have a few wood artists collaborate. Our initial concept is to divide the area (8’ x 10’)into sections. We thought about stacking vertically, like a totem, but that seems static. We would rather divide the area by a spiral line or the intersection of two spirals. These would create diamond shapes, the size of which would depend on how the lines of division would fall. Since this is intended to last, we prefer that images be carved in some way and that we avoid stereotypical chainsaw carving themes such as we find in vacation cabin art (welcome bears, bald eagles, etc). We also do not think that attachments to the tree would be helpful. The question of paint or stain on the work is not decided at this point.

Theme: We talked about a theme such as “The Land in Transition” which could include seasonal changes, birth to death, etc. The “land” in question is that of the center. There are a number of possible images and themes from the land: wildlife, birds, insects, trees, flowers, events, gardens. We would prefer the works lean away from work that is so conceptual that it requires explanation, but it need not be realistic either.

Timeline:
• There is no deadline.
• We would like interested artists to meet and finalize the concept for the overall direction.
• Most likely work would start in the spring, as winter is soon upon us.