Over four days this June at Horizon Hill Park, an internationally known artist will turn a 15-foot tall sycamore stump into a work of art.
The public is invited to watch chainsaw carver Paul Waclo work on the stump, weather permitting, from 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday, June 4-Friday, June 8.
A dedication ceremony for the newly complete and renovated Horizon Hill Park will take place at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 7 at the park, at the corner of Wootton Parkway and South Fallsmead Way.
Planning and outreach for the renovations began in May 2009. Work at Horizon Hill Park has included restoration and protection of the stream valley, enhanced water quality and stormwater management, erosion repair and prevention, and protection of park amenities. Additional improvements include a new basketball court, a wider bike path, fitness equipment, safer playgrounds, and a pergola and patio.
Waclo, from York, Pennsylvania, has been a professional chainsaw carver since 2012. Waclo’s designs have been featured in magazines, newspapers and on television. He travels throughout the United States and Europe transforming logs or stumps into exciting imagery.
The City of Rockville Department of Recreation and Parks and the Rockville Cultural Arts Commission distributed a call for entries last year requesting that artists from around the region submit applications for an all-inclusive budget of $5,000 to create a work of art out of the 15 feet tall, 30 inch wide stump. The final selection was made by Horizon Hill neighbors and members of the arts commission. The project is funded through the Arts in Public Places program.
To learn more about Arts in Public Places, visit www.rockvillemd.gov/AIPP. For more information on the Horizon Hill art project, contact Arts Program Supervisor Betty Wisda at [email protected]. Visit Waclo’s website at www.chainsawcarvingbypaul.com.
This article has been updated with details about the dedication ceremony.