Bringing people closer to nature is one of the reasons parks are created in the first place. The towering trees in Cottonwood Island Park will now get a lot more up-close scrutiny, thanks to the creative art of masterful carver Elmer Gunderson.
Gunderson, a former parks employee for the City of Prince George, had already chipped eight carvings into the cottonwood bark along the Nechako River trails just west of the Fraser River confluence. Two were lost since their installation 10 years ago. Now, he has been commissioned by local government to add six more.
The City of Prince George provided a Community Enhancement Grant to pay for the project, in partnership with the Prince George Heritage Commission, the Central B.C. Railway and Forestry Museum and Papyrus Printing.
"Not only does a project like this create a unique destination for city residents, but it also provides a fun and interesting walk for visitors to our city," said Mayor Lyn Hall who was there at the unveiling of the new carvings this week.
"The project could not have been a success without the talents of local artist Elmer Gunderson," said Jeff Elder, the project's leader and a member of the heritage commission. He also tipped his hat to Papyrus Printing for the work they did creating the all-important marketing tools like brochure maps and an on-site sign leading people to see the carvings.
The brochures are available at Tourism Prince George and at the railway museum.
They are subtle, but if you visually scan the trees as you walk the trails through Cottonwood Island Park, many of the carvings are easily spotted along the way. Gunderson wasn't trying to hide them. Most are the images of faces but some are fantastical tree village scenes.
He said he got "a lot of strange looks" when he was in the process of carving into the trees. He probably looked like a vandal to the casual passerby. He didn't put blade to bark, though, until all was properly approved and part of that was his assurance that the trees were safe.
"This is the only park where I've done this sort of thing," Gunderson said. "The tree has to be old, it has to have thick bark with enough depth to work in. I don't want to go into the wood and damage the tree."
He said he comes to the park regularly as a trails user, and "it's very rewarding" to see his art on display in this unique way. It's especially tickling for him when strangers will engage him in conversation about the bark images, not knowing they are talking to the artist. He likes to play along like he's never seen them before, and get their version of an art tour of his own work.
Gunderson was one of the featured artists at Studio Fair this year, and he has an exhibition of his work coming up at the Two Rivers Gallery's Rustad Galleria early in 2017.
