MOOSE JAW — The sound of power tools has been filling the air around the library and Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery (MJMAG), as artists have been transforming dead trees into creative artworks.
Three artists have been hard at work creating new wood carvings from old tree stumps that park caretakers have said are ready to be cut down.
The purpose of the Tree Carving Project, first introduced in 2016, is to create art from the trees for the public to enjoy, instead of just removing them entirely. Organized by the Crescent Park Foundation, the project is made possible by a supporting grant from city hall and a partnership with the MJMAG.
Moose Jaw Express/Moose Jaw Today staff visited the park recently to chat with each artist about her proposed project.
Karen Watson, Moose Jaw
Watson — who has contributed to the Tree Carving Project before — plans to celebrate the Royal Canadian Air Force’s (RCAF) 100th birthday by paying homage to the 431 (Snowbirds) Air Demonstration Squadron.
Specifically, she plans to capture two Snowbirds in a spiral formation with human silhouettes underneath and a Snowbird logo carved into the trunk.
Compared to previous projects, Watson decided this time to create a pattern to reference regularly while using a chainsaw and other tools to carve the images. These patterns — cardboard cutouts of a Snowbird jet with views from the top, bottom and side — ensure she can depict the jets’ length and width accurately.
“The rest of the tree will be a little more stylized, which is easy enough to do,” she said. “I also like to do a mini-model so I can visually see it and reference it, and also, a drawing.”
Watson doesn’t know when she might finish, saying the schedule she has in her head doesn’t always align with the circumstances.
For example, she discovered that there was rot in the middle of the tree, so she had to change the design since she couldn’t make the planes fly as she had envisioned. If she had proceeded as planned, there would have been a big hole in one plane.
So, if no other delays occur, she expects to finish in a couple of weeks.
“When choosing this design, I was choosing it with the people of Moose Jaw in mind, so I hope that they like it,” she chuckled. “And I work with people that have a connection to the Snowbirds, so I’m hoping that the Snowbirds appreciate that I’m thinking of them and Canada’s military and all that they do for us.”
Sadi Rose Vaxvick, Ochapowace First Nation
Vaxvick’s project focuses on the seven grandfather teachings, which connect to her Aboriginal heritage since she is Nehiyaw and Saulteaux and is registered with the Ochapowace Reserve.
The teachings include love, respect, courage, honesty, wisdom, humility and truth, with animals representing each characteristic — eagle, bison, bear, bigfoot/sasquatch, beaver, wolf and turtle, respectively — carved into the tree.
A continuous three-strand braid of sweetgrass will also wrap around the tree to connect the animals, people and the land.
“It’s very holistic and healing for me to work with my indigenous culture. I am the first generation (of my family) that I wasn’t in (a) residential school or day school, so I have that generational trauma,” Vaxvick said.
This trauma includes being raised in the city instead of on a reserve, so connecting with her Aboriginal roots through this artwork “heals (her) inner child” and makes her a better mother.
Vaxvick graduated from university several years ago and teaches workshops in Regina and Moose Jaw about the seven teachings. She says it means so much to her and her family to keep those First Nation teachings and knowledge alive, especially the storytelling.
The artist spent a month planning how she would carve and paint her design, including using a computer program to design the piece. She plans to use a grinder and a sander to etch the image, while she will paint the sweetgrass green and keep a natural wood colouring for the rest.
Vaxvick added that the seven teachings are important to indigenous cultures everywhere, while this artwork contributes to reconciliation.
Carly Jaye Smith, Moose Jaw
Smith plans to paint a tree with the various birds that inhabit Crescent Park. However, due to unexpected complications with the tree, she likely won’t begin painting for at least a month.
