Chainsaw sculptor turns tree into art

High above the road in Villanova, what's left of a giant oak is becoming chainsaw art.

Marty Long, an ice sculptor turned wood carver, slices away at the 12-foot-high trunk in front of an orthodontist's home at 91 N. Spring Mill Rd.

As chips fly, three figures emerge: a boy climbing the trunk, a girl resting halfway up, and a teenage boy, with arms raised, exultant at reaching the top.

"It symbolizes the different stages of life - the small child and the teenager. The boy has worked really hard to get to the top of the tree," says Anthony R. Costa, 42, as he and wife Cole, 30, peer up at the work they've commissioned.

Long began the $3,000 carving several months ago. He'll complete it this fall by sanding the wood and sealing it with special deck paint.

Despite the work's rough state, it has already created "a real big buzz," mostly from motorists who slow down to see it, says Costa.

"The response has been very positive. We've gotten 20 or 30 calls saying, 'We love it,' " he says.

The Costas operate an orthodontist practice on Summit Grove Avenue in Bryn Mawr. All day, they cater to children. They come home at night to son Anthony Jr., born last December.

Partly out of joy at the child's birth and partly because they had a dead tree they didn't know what to do with, they decided to turn the white oak into a tree sculpture with a children's theme.

"My friend noticed it didn't bud, so we asked the township, could we take it down? The arborist came out and said it was dead. I was covering all the bases," says Costa.

A patient mentioned seeing a tree carving at a home on the Main Line. The Costas liked the idea. They asked around and found Long, 42, a Phoenixville ice sculptor who was set on a career as a chef when wood carving called to him.

Long began whittling tree trunks, mostly for affluent suburban homeowners. Word spread, and Long found himself earning a living as a tree carver.

His first work, 15 years ago, was an owl. He's done alligators, dogs, lions, rabbits, raccoons, wolves, bears, deer, birds, frogs, gnomes, flowers, people, angels, fairies, Winnie the Pooh, and "right after 9/11, an eagle taking flight."

Some of the figures stand alone. Others peek from holes in a "tree." The carvings can be seen outside homes, retirement facilities and schools; there's a bulldog outside Charlestown Elementary School, which sons Jack, 9, and Ryan, 7, attend.

"I do lots of eagles, owls and bears," says Long. "People have got to have them."

He charges between $1,000 and $10,000 for his works, depending on size and complexity. Sometimes the trunk is sawed off and moved to his Phoenixville workshop, where it's carved, and delivered to the client by tow truck.

Some Long pieces have become landmarks, like the rabbits carved for an estate near the corner of County Line and Spring Mill Roads in Villanova. The tree carving is decorated with flags, jerseys and symbols of the season.

"The bunnies are famous," says Long. "They have more of a wardrobe than I do."

Long is so busy creating artworks and carving in chainsaw shows across the country that the Costas waited a year to engage his services.

"To tell you what kind of guy he is, he said, 'I'll be there on Friday,' " Costa says. "Well, I stayed home all day because I wanted to watch the carving. He shows up at quarter of 6 at night and worked until 8 or 9."

Long dresses for work in goggles, gloves, T-shirt, and pants covered with heavy chaps similar to what cowboys wear. He wields saws of different sizes, working from a design that's drawn on paper, then transferred to clay and wood.

Each work takes several months. "You know you're done when you're afraid you're going to start messing it up," says Long.

The carving on the Costas' property is still being refined, with light touches of the chainsaw. Long stands on a scaffold above traffic on North Spring Mill Road overlooking traffic.

The Costas plan to dress the triumphant figure of the youth atop the carving in a T-shirt and hat. The boy will carry a flag for whatever local team is playing.

"We'll do the Eagles, the Phils, the Flyers and Sixers. We'll have fun with it," Costa says.