'Freedom Tree' chainsaw carving to be unveiled for Bright Lights
The Essex County chainsaw carver has an entire workstation set up around a 15-foot elm tree stump
Anyone who's driven past Jackson Park over the past few days has likely seen Rusty Barton at work.
The Essex County chainsaw carver has an entire workstation set up around a 15-foot elm tree stump, and though the carving is very much a work in progress, Barton says the end product will be quite the eye-catching piece.
"We're going to call it the Freedom Tree," said Barton.
The sculpture, located on Ouellette Street, about 300 metres south of Tecumseh Road, was the brainchild of City of Windsor forester Paul Giroux.
Giroux's original design included an eagle and a beaver shaking hands, according to Barton.
"He came up with some ideas, I drew up some pictures and we approved a carving," said Barton. "We're carving it up right now."
Once completed, the sculpture will feature a Canadian flag on one side, an American flag on the other — both of which will stand close to three metres tall.
"It's going to be lots of red, white and blue," said Barton. "At the bottom, facing the parking, I have a little diagram of Essex County. On the roadside, I'm going to have a welcome sign."
Barton said he's been carving trees for around six years. An arborist by trade, Barton said he began chainsaw carving as a move toward a new profession.
"I look home a tree and tried to carve up a bear, and I thought, well, it kind of looks like a bear," he said.
Watch Rusty Barton work away at the Freedom Tree in Jackson Park:
Barton soon began watching tutorials on YouTube — and speaking with other carvers — and has been an avid sculptor ever since.
And though the Jackson Park sculpture might seem large at first, Barton said he's had plenty of experience constructing large pieces.
"I have 24 big carvings all over Essex County that are this size," he said, specifying four in Amherstburg, as well as three in McGregor.
Barton said city administration wants the Jackson Park sculpture completed before the launch of this year's Bright Lights celebration on Dec. 6.
With files from Windsor Morning