In the front yard of wood sculptor Elton Braithwaite’s Granby, MA home sits a 12-foot wood carving that he calls “Tree Spirit.”
The 73-year-old artist has carved thousands of pieces over his 50-year career, but Tree Spirit is one of his favorites. Braithwaite explains his special connection to the carving in this digital exclusive.
See Elton Braithwaite’s art in action in our full feature on the wood carver.
Read the full transcript:
Elton Braithwaite, Wood Sculptor: So, this is the “Tree Spirit.” And the “Tree Spirit” is one piece of wood come from a different place, in town. And it was given to me by the town. And it’s Maplewood.
And if you notice, we’ve got a lion over here. We’ve got a man over here, we’ve got a fish over here. We got the King of the tribe right here. And then we’ve got a lizard right here. And then we have two more bodies in this piece.
This piece take me six and a half months to do. And it’s all handmade. It’s one of my favorite piece of all. I love it.
He even got a beautiful heart right here. So, you see, everything make up this. So, what was in the tree, it tells me what to do with it. I didn’t drawn it, I just do it, naturally.
