Ice Storm Debris Transformed Into Art

Like most Green Country residents, Boyd Clark will never forget this past ice storm.

 "Well it was really discouraging, I woke up and I could hear the trees cracking and falling," said Boyd Clark.  "I walked out into my backyard and I'd lost about nine of my old trees that were about 40 years old"

Clark, a Bartlesville math teacher lives in Owasso where the devastation was some of the worst, but with the sadness that came with the loss of so many historic trees, he found a new passion.

"My wife and I set up a little business and we call it ‘Ice Storm Candlesticks.' I inherited this lathe from my father who died about 15 years ago.  I had tried to sell it in garage sales for about $25 and couldn't get any takers.  So, when I started stacking this wood up, I decided to get this lathe out and set it up and play with it and see if I could get a memento of my trees of this ice storm. It's now turned into kind of a passion with me and I just can't help it I go grab a stick of wood and these candlesticks just seem to pop out," said Boyd Clark.

"To look at the damage that was done and to look at that pile of wood out there and think it took 40 or 50 years for those trees to grow and to be able to create something out of it is real satisfying, it's almost a spiritual thing with me," said Boyd Clark.

So much so, that Boyd is having a difficult time putting a price on his craftsmanship and has given away over a dozen.   He's even traded some.

"I traded three for dinner out my wife and I had a steak dinner.  And, an interior designer wants some of these and I told her after I did this she could come over and pick some of them out," said Boyd  Clark.

Boyd says he loves the craft so much, he'll do it for you, for free.

"If someone wants a memento from their yard, I will do my best to make it.  Look at it as a labor of love," said Boyd Clark.

You can email him at:  Boydlou5@cox.net.