The sculptures are a gift to the people of the Coast. So many Mississippians came to help Miller's hometown of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., when it was hit by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 that he wanted to repay the favor after Hurricane Katrina targeted South Mississippi. He planned to load up his family and chain saws and help Coast residents recover, but "we just never really had the opportunity."
Instead he is creating treasures on the beach.
"We still have to remove the bark on the trees," he said, and paint them with a protective sealant. The dolphin and herons are carved out of cypress trees, which will probably stay lighter than the oak trees but will also need to be sprayed every year for termites. "The cypress ones are going to have to be treated for sure," said Miller, and he thought he might offer to pay for that service.
The work became a family project, with Miller's son Preston and daughter Samantha each working with him for a day. They heard a thousand horns from appreciative drivers while they worked.
"I've sold hundreds of wood carvings in your area," he said, to people from the Biloxi area who often drive to his galleries in Destin and those who buy his sculptures at the Peter Anderson Festival and Spring Fest in Ocean Springs.
Carving
New Katrina sculptures, by Marlin Miller, Part 1, Dec. 8-9, 2007
Marlin Miller, an award-winning wood sculptor from Fort Walton Beach, Fla., visited Biloxi to create more works of art from the standing dead tree trunks along Beach Boulevard. During his initial two days of work, Miller sculpted four trees, creating a dolphin, egrets and a seahorse. The dolphin and egrets are on west beach, just east of Rodenberg Avenue, and the seahorse is a couple blocks west of the Biloxi Lighthouse. The works complement previous sculptures by an award-winning Mississippi-born wood sculptor. Click on individual images to enlarge.
To see a video interview with Marlin and see him at work, click here.
For background on Miller's project in Biloxi, click here.
New Katrina sculptures, by Marlin Miller, Part 1, Dec. 8-9, 2007
Marlin Miller, an award-winning wood sculptor from Fort Walton Beach, Fla., visited Biloxi to create more works of art from the standing dead tree trunks along Beach Boulevard. During his initial two days of work, Miller sculpted four trees, creating a dolphin, egrets and a seahorse. The dolphin and egrets are on west beach, just east of Rodenberg Avenue, and the seahorse is a couple blocks west of the Biloxi Lighthouse. The works complement previous sculptures by an award-winning Mississippi-born wood sculptor. Click on individual images to enlarge.
To see a video interview with Marlin and see him at work, click here.
For background on Miller's project in Biloxi, click here.
5 comments:
LOVE THAT! Thank you so much for sharing it! What a wonderful way to bring some beauty to the downed trees....so that they may have a second life....
Gorgeous and such a wonderful idea taking something sad and making it beautiful! I love artists!
Youngest's dearest friend's family finally made their move to Biloxi this fall. They closed on a house on the beach two weeks before Katrina. They had planned to slowly fix it up and then relocate. Husband quit his job as a construction manager here and went to MS about 6 months after Katrina. Oldest son went to live with dad when he started HS last year, and she stayed with younger son and finished out her job at school. They are all together again, the house is almost done, but we miss them!
What a wonderful thing to do! Thanks for letting us all know what is happening in your part of the world.
Fran
That is such a wonderful gift, and from a great talent to an equally lovely area. My heart goes out to everyone along the Gulf Coast.
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