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Light touch: Whittle the Wood Stump 5’s Justine Park sticks with feather motif in 2nd year

Left: Park's finished, painted piece, "Home of the Brave." Right: Justine Park adjusts portions of her entry in the 20th annual Whittle the Wood Rendezvous.
Andy Bockelman

Whether a pair of giant ones towering overhead or more than a dozen smaller but no less intricate features on display, Justine Park knows how to make wooden feathers stick out.

20th annual Whittle the Wood Rendezvous carvings

Stump 1 — Nate Hall — “Mountain Migraine”; Rams butting heads

Stump 2 — Matt Ounsworth — “20 for 20”; Animal totem (Second place)

Stump 3 — Jim Valentine — “Buckshot Bill”; Cowboy

Stump 4 — Damon Gorecki — “Wood Haven”; Bench

Stump 5 — Justine Park — “Home of the Brave”; Skull with feathered headdress

Stump 6 — Joe Srholez — “Xing Yun (Lucky)”; Dragon

Stump 7 — Chad Stratton — “Long Ago”; Wooly mammoth

Stump 8 — Bongo Love — “The Sweet Life”; Hummingbirds (Third place)

Stump 9 — Robert Lyon — “Horse of Course”; Horse

Stump 10 — Robert Waits —  The Lorax”; The Lorax (Artist’s Choice)

Stump 11 — Fernando Dulnuan — “The Lion of Judah”; Angel with lion and lamb

Stump 12 — Ken Braun — “Blue”; Velociraptor (First place, People’s Choice, Artist’s Choice)

In her second year with Whittle the Wood Rendezvous, Boulder carver Park stuck with an element similar to the one she utilized in her WTW debut in 2018.

Her latest piece, “Home of the Brave,” portrays a Native American skull with a headdress full of feathers.



Justine Park polishes parts of her carving.
Andy Bockelman

Twenty of them, to be specific, in a nod to the 20th anniversary of Whittle the Wood.

In addition to that, the piece is symbolic in other ways, as well, she said.



“It’s kind of symbolic with life and death,” she said.

Justine Park works on the fine details for the feathers in her headdress carving Friday during Whittle the Wood Rendezvous.
Andy Bockelman

The feathers — a number of which were individually carved by Park at a separate work station and later inserted into the head — are on the darker side, whereas the somber skull has a headband of vibrant colors, as well as a multi-colored swirl on the backside.

A close-up of Justine Park’s “Home of the Brave.”
Andy Bockelman

Feathers played a prominent part in her first time at the Craig competition in 2018, in which she paid tribute to a young friend who had recently passed away. The piece “Be Like Nathalie” featured two large feathers flanking a series of mushrooms.

Justine Park of Boulder takes a reflective moment with her carving “Be Like Nathalie,” intertwined feathers, at the 19th annual Whittle the Wood Rendezvous. She dedicated the piece to a departed friend.
Andy Bockelman

“She was only 21 and had a heart condition no one knew about, so it’s been a pretty sad time,” Park said in 2018. “She loved feathers and she had such a wonderful spirit, so this is my piece for her.”


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