Date: 09-30-2015
Artist brings tree stumps to life in Prestonsburg
PRESTONSBURG — He calls himself a “wannabe sculptor,” but Floyd County artist Mark Vance is already sculpting his way into the history of Archer Park.
Vance, of Dwale, was commissioned by the park to turn old stumps and trees planned to be removed into works of art.
He’s already completed one project, a stump that he carved with a chainsaw into a tree spirit. He is also working on a larger work, an 18-foot tree statue featuring owls, a squirrel and other animals and/or objects that are yet to take shape near the city dog park and soccer field.
“I’m just trying to dress the place up a little bit, do a little something for the community,” he said.
Vance has been an artist his entire life. He said he learned to draw before he learned to write his name.
“I could draw Huckleberry Hound [cartoon character] before I was even interested in the letter ‘a’,” he said. “I’ve just always had a knack for it, had a good eye.”
He is self-taught and has never taken advanced training or classes in the arts.
“Everything I’ve done, picked up, I’ve done the hard way,” he said.
Vance, who calls himself “the very definition of a starving artist,” worked as a tattoo artist for 20 years and, since leaving that profession, uses his creativity in chainsaw sculpturing, carving, painting and engraving antique and modern guns.
He started chainsaw sculpting three years ago.
“That’s always the debate,” he said. “Is it carving or is it sculpture?” he said, noting that he is not fond of block-style chainsaw carving. He tries to add intricate details to all of his works.
He completed the face of the owl and the face of the squirrel on his current piece with a tool called a die grinder, a handheld rotary tool used in carving, but the rest of the 18-foot sculpture has been done with a chainsaw.
He started the project with what he thought he would create out of the large stump, but his vision changed as he started working with the wood.
“I hate to admit it, and get all artsy-fartsy about it, but, like that squirrel, sometimes the chunk of wood tells you what it wants to be, or you just get lucky and see something that you know is going to fit there automatically.”
A natural fork in the tree became an owl at the top with its wings outstretched, and the squirrel, he said, was already “in” the tree. A broken limb became the squirrel’s tail and another limb became the squirrel’s head.
“If you could have seen it with the bark on it,” he said. “I didn’t have to carve out that squirrel at all. All I had to do was skin the bark off of it. It was already there.”
He plans to carve a horned owl coming out of the side of the tree and other items on the opposite side.
He said his favorite part about sculpting is completing the work, walking back away from it, sitting down and looking at what he created.
He plans to work on several other trees and stumps at the park before December.
“This is an artistic area,” he said. “There are a few painters around here and musicians that have got some notoriety, but this town needs a sculptor. I’m working on it.”
Park Director Ritchie Schoolcraft is pleased with Vance’s work.
He said the sculptures are one of several ongoing improvements at the park. The city is developing walking and biking trails there, he explained, and the sculptures are located along those routes.
“Winter was pretty hard on us over here,” Schoolcraft said. “We lost a lot of trees and we’ve been trying to clean up a lot of the damage. Instead of cutting them down, we thought we’d try to save some of them.”
He knew Vance and invited him to do the work. The park agreed to preserve the statues with polyurethane after the carving is complete.
“It’s just something different and unique for the park,” he said. “Mark is a terrific artist. It’s just amazing what he is able to do with that chainsaw.”
He said Vance’s work has already increased traffic to the park, which accommodates thousands of people annually. More than 33,000 visitors toured the park in November and December 2014 during its annual Christmas lights display, Schoolcraft reported.
The park offers two playground areas, a memorial for veterans, pool, skating rink, gymnasium, outdoor tennis and basketball courts, nine soccer fields, picnic shelters and other amenities.
For more information about the park, call, (606) 886-6390.
For more information about Vance’s work, search for Artist Mark Vance on Facebook.
By Mary Meadows
Floyd County Chronicle
