4 minute read
art of the Matter
The photo above, submitted by Joan Wilcoxen, shows the face of the fairy tree carving done by Shawn Helgeson at a house in Fort Gibson in 2017. The photo on the right shows the face after Wilcoxen replastered the face to look more like her niece Devyn, the granddaughter of homeowners David and Ruth Redding.
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Mother Nature helps with carving
Chainsaw artist makes art out of fallen American Elm tree
It was the summer of 2016 that changed the front of David and Ruth Redding’s home in Fort Gibson.
A massive storm made its way through the area with winds clocked as high as 115 mph. The damage was all throughout Green Country.
The Reddings lost an American Elm tree that put their house at risk.
They thought about hiring Clayton Coss, a renowned chainsaw artist in Tulsa, but thought cost might be an issue. That’s when fate stepped in.
By ronn rowland • Photos by Von CaStor
The wings of the tree-carved fairy at the Redding house in Fort Gibson need occasional coating of varathane to keep the piece in excellent condition and display the detail of the design work by Shawn Helgeson.
BELOW: The bottom of the carving shows vines wrapping themselves around the base.
Shawn Helgeson, a neighbor’s boyfriend, had just started in tree carving and said he could do it.
“I think it was his first major tree carving,” Ruth said. “He did the wings marvelous but there were a lot of things out of proportion. He did the best he could — like I said it was his first go-round.
“It was a scary fairy. I would put plants on it to hide the face and all.”
The Reddings said they wanted it to look like their granddaughter Devyn Harper but they said it looked like something “that would come alive.”
In stepped Ruth’s sister, Joan Wilcoxen, who Ruth said would come over and just moan.
“My poor little niece, this is what they think she looks like,” Wilcoxen said laughingly.
So one day Wilcoxen told the them, “I’ll fix it for you if you don’t come up with something better.”
David and Ruth Redding, left, and Joan Wilcoxen stand next to the fairy carved from an American Elm in front of the Redding’s house in Fort Gibson. The tree was damaged during the July 2016 storm. (Photo by Ronn Rowland)
When Shawn Helgeson finished his carving of the fairy at the Redding’s house in Fort Gibson, he carved the initials “T.D.” in the base of the piece. Helgeson refers to himself as the “Tree Doctor.”
When Shawn Helegson finished the carving, the Reddings were not happy with the way the fairy’s face looked. Ruth Redding went so far as to put flowers around the face to draw attention away from it.
Now the work of art looks like the piece the Reddings wanted.
“While we were on vacation she came over,” David said. “I call her the makeup artist. She fixed it.”
Wilcoxen, who likes to go by Joan “of Art” Wilcoxen, then went through the process of facial reconstruction.
“I had to get painter’s caulk and rebuild the face,” she said. “I had never done it before.”
Now the carving proudly sits facing the rising sun where all who want to can come by and see it.
If you Google Map the address, the street view shows the house with the tree still standing, but do a satellite view and zoom in and the fairy is on display.
“But yet Amazon will not deliver here,” Ruth said. “We have to go to the post office to get any packages delivered by Amazon. They don’t recognize the address.”
Even though the Wilcoxen face is what people see, Helgeson still has a lasting impression in the front — the initials “T.D.”
“He calls himself the ‘Tree Doctor,’” David said. “He did that purposefully. Somewhere in there he carved ‘17’ in there for the year he did it.”
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