New Life For Some Trees With Amazing Carving

September is Alberta Culture Days and to celebrate in Drumheller, the Town of Drumheller invited a wood carver to carve an art piece for the community.

The wood for this particular piece is from a number of the trees that had to be removed due to the work with the Flood Mitigation project. The Town welcomed Marina Cole, who is based out of the Medicine Hat area, and her company Chainsaw Spirit. She shares on how difficult it was to choose the design of the dinosaur art piece. "It was actually kind of difficult but at the same time, I knew I had only so much wood I could work with so it did kind of narrow it down a little bit. I was kind of nervous because there are so many paleontologists and people who know their dinosaurs, so I said it's a 'Marinasaurus' because it is something that was created for the town, in an artistic way."

Cole notes that she visualizes the art the moment she sees the piece of wood she is working on. "When it comes to me and my carving, I just 'turn on a switch' and my brain just works with it. As soon as I see the wood, I'm like 'okay this is what we're doing' and it all comes to life. You kind of get a few ideas but you never really know what you're going to stick with until you see the wood and actually get involved and start cutting." Cole shares that there were not many difficulties with this particular piece, other than the actual weight. She says that many were there to help put the full piece together.

As an artist, every piece completed has a part of the artist in the work. Cole comments that she always strives to do her best with every piece. "You want to try to do the best you can for the wood that you're given and make it the best it can be for its next life and purpose. It is a little bit difficult but at the same time it worked out very well and everybody seemed like they were incredibly happy so that's what makes my heart happy."

Cole was very honoured to be able to do this piece and shares that Drumheller has been a place she and her family have visited many times. She also has done a small piece in a tree in the Drumheller Valley over this past weekend. This carving was sponsored by a local family and is located in Riverside Park between 15th and 17th Street.