BANGOR, Maine (WCSH) — Considered one of the most famous houses in Maine is that of Stephen and Tabitha King in Bangor.
The tree stood in front of the house for about 300 years but with the years, it got bug-infested. The Kings decided to cut it down, leaving only the trunk.
Tabitha wanted to do something special with it and give new life to the tree.
The remaining trunk is now being carved into art by Josh Landry, a professional wood carver from North Anson, Maine. Landry is giving the tree a whole new spin based on Tabitha's suggestions.
"She wanted it to be a bookshelf in the tree, and she kind of wanted the tree to be giving everything to us, meaning it kind of like morphed into the bookshelf, the tree gives oxygen, obviously for the cats, the books, the paper, the wood to build the bookshelf, everything comes from the tree, so it was really neat to do," Landry said.
Landry said he has been working on this piece for about a month and hopes to finish it by the end of this week. These days, he's been working on the final details of the piece.
Now that people are quarantining at home, Landry has noticed many people going out for fresh air and stopping by to watch him work and many coming back to see the progress made.
"Everyone in the town has really enjoyed watching the process of it, and they said especially at a time like this, a lot of their kids, they bring them here, and they say this is their field trip, so it's really neat," Landry said.
Landry said these carved works can last up to 30 to 40 years, but they have to be well-maintained.
Landry said after a recent storm, many people may have tree trunks around that he would happily transform into statues. Click here to follow his work, as well as his Instagram page.
