ST. ALBANS CITY — Look up, and you might catch Taylor Park’s newest artwork.
Visitors to the park’s south end will find two new sculptures featuring bald eagles carved out of old tree trunks. Public works director Marty Manahan said the City of St. Albans hired Creative Chainsaw Art woodcarver John Montagne to create the sculptures after the city needed to remove the dying maple trees, opting to turn them into public art instead.
“We had some dying trees that had been there for 30 to 40 years, and we hate to see them just cut down,” Manahan said.
As an alternative, they figured they’d give Montagne some leeway to create something new for the park. As Montagne described, he positioned the eagle so people standing near the Civil War Memorial can see the American flag flying behind the eagle’s wings in order to create a patriotic scene for visitors.
On Thursday afternoon, he was still figuring out the details for the second eagle, to be placed nearby. Later, he’ll spraypaint the creature and give it a good lacquering.
Of the three trees trimmed by the city in Taylor Park, two are in good enough shape to get some work done on them, Manahan said. If the city hadn’t commissioned Montagne, then city workers would have cut them down, ground down the stumps and used the wood for firewood.
“It’s good for the park. He’s certainly got a vision and does amazing work,” Manahan said. “We thought it was a good opportunity.”
Montagne got started with his chainsaw art roughly five years ago, eventually turning his artistic side hustle into a business after he started taking commissions. His work, which includes Hard’Ack’s snowboarder statue, can now be found throughout Franklin County.