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City decides placement of new Whittle the Wood sculptures throughout Craig

Ben McCanna
Artist Ron Eye, of Vernal, Utah, zeroes in on his sculpture Saturday during the quick-carving demonstration at the 12th annual Whittle the Wood Rendezvous.
Ben McCanna

Dave Pike, Craig Parks and Recreation director, said the finished works from this year’s Whittle the Wood Rendezvous have been removed from Craig City Park, delivered to new locations, and will be permanently installed within the next few weeks.

Typically, the carvings would stay at City Park for a longer duration, but two factors intervened, Pike said.

First, the wood used at this year’s event — beetle-kill pine — is prone to cracking. Second, many of this year’s works were delicately carved by artists.



“These particular pieces of woodwork are just kind of dry and susceptible to breaking,” Pike said. “We left them there (at City Park) for a day and we figured we’d better get them out of there before they get beat up.”

Although the park is home to many carvings from years past, distribution to other locations is typical.



In all, there are 90 chainsaw sculptures around Craig and Moffat County. Those locations can be found on an interactive map at http://www.whittlethewood.com.

The following is a list of this year’s carvings, their creators and locations for the sculptures:

• “Father Time,” by Sheldon Roberts, inside Craig City Hall, 300 W. Fourth St.

• “Love is a Wonderful Thing,” by Bongo Love, Craig Swimming Complex, 605 Washington St.

• “The Passion of the Pack,” by Forrest Dorman, the new Colorado Northwestern Community College campus, 2801 W. Ninth St.

• “Ultimate Sacrifice,” by Faye Braaten, Craig Cemetery

• “Pond Dwellers,” by Ken Braun, Alice Pleasant Park in downtown Craig

• “Irreconcilable,” by Ron Eye, Moffat County Fairgrounds, 640 E. Victory Way

• “Pecos Bill,” by Mark Mahorney, Dinosaur Welcome Center, 101 Stegosaurus Freeway, Dinosaur (tentative)

• “From Nederland with Love,” by Jon Parker, Finley Lane

• “Vision Quest,” by Mark Rexinger, Yampa Valley Golf Course, 2179 Colorado Highway 394

• “High Water,” by Chad Stratton, Yampa River State Park, 6185 U.S. Highway 40, Hayden (tentative)

• “Stop Global Warming,” by Robert Waits, Moffat County Ice Arena, 500 S. Ranney St.

Pike said consideration was given to each sculpture’s theme when finding placement.

“For instance, ‘Ultimate Sacrifice’ is a tribute to veterans, so we thought putting it up at the cemetery where the veterans are buried would be really nice,” he said.

Pike said the most fragile carvings would be placed at the safest locations.

For instance, “Father Time,” a carving that resembles a grandfather clock standing on four slender legs, will be moved indoors at Craig City Hall.

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