Larry “Pig” Porter chuckled Tuesday morning and agreed there is a lot of hard work involved with carving an image into a live oak tree.
The retired electrician has just begun removing the outermost layers of bark and wood on the Carol Malone Boulevard side of the tree, which is essentially a tall stump left behind after a series of similar trees were removed to make room for utility lines. Located next to Grayson’s municipal building and city park near the city’s busiest intersection, Grayson officials were quick to recognize the tree’s potential to serve as a signature work of public art.
“This is all new to me,” Porter said, explaining his primary tool is an angle grinder with a wood-cutting wheel attached. The carver said he’s done a few smaller pieces, and is not especially interested in learning to use a chainsaw. Faced with the reality or removing the still-green wood as he makes his carving, however, Porter said he may call in a friend who is handy with a chainsaw.
Porter definitely has a vision in mind for the piece – a man with a long flowing beard, with a pair of hands clearing the beard to reveal yet another bearded man emerging from beneath the larger face.
Info and Photos by TIM PRESTON Carter County Post