Local sculptor adds interest to the journey at Kickapoo Creek Park

 

[August 08, 2020] 

Local woodcarver Darrell Wibben has been at it again, turning wasted wood into art at Kickapoo Creek Park. A few weeks ago, LDN ran a shot of an owl all decked out for summer with COVID mask protection. That owl was the work of Wibben. Soon after, we heard that Wibben was at the park working on a new project.

The wolf Wibben is working on in the photo will be his ninth addition to the park. Wibben said that he had done several birds, all life-sized, and had just recently added three new carvings. He said that those walking through the wooded areas of the park would want to look carefully for the sculptures because they are life-sized, which means some will be quite small.

Wibben said he stopped doing the carvings for a while because there had been public concerns about the wood he is using. Some mistakenly thought that Wibben was destroying living trees to make his art.

That is not the case. The carvings are done on stumps of trees that have been storm damaged. Wibben also carves on old trees and limbs that have died out due to age.

The wolf, Wibben said, is carved on old deadwood. He noted that it has dried out considerablyS because it is old, making carving a little more complicated.

[Nila Smith/Karen Hargis]