Branching out: Trees as sculptures seen in Western Heights neighborhood
GARLAND -- Many in the Western Heights Neighborhood in Harland are ready to turn over a new leaf; transforming dead trees into sculptures.
"There were a lot of dead trees in the neighborhood and if we could do something about that our office suggested trying to put in some tree sculptures," Neighborhood Vitality, Katherine Gulyamova said.
It's out with the dead, dying and dangerous trees and instead they're branching into a new form of art.
"It started off as just something fun to do, it was just a hobby and then it grew in popularity," Kevin Roach, a chainsaw artist based out of Decatur, said.
Roach was been commissioned with the city to help people go out on a new limb. There are about 12 different trees that have already been identified.
The Western Heights neighborhood is bordered by Western Drive, Shiloh Road, Walnut Street and Lawson Drive.
The City of Garland's "Where the Heart Is" program partners with one neighborhood each year to initiate overall neighborhood reinvestment.
"I love it I think it makes our yard look a heck of a lot better than it did with a dead tree stump that stood there four feet tall," resident who has a tree sculpture in her yard, London Gasset said.
"It's a sculpture that tells their personal story, story of their family or someone they've lost or a family's pet," Roach said.
Now several different stories are showcased in stump throughout this side of town. Gasset has a turtle showing tribute to her actually pets.
"I'm kind of a reptile enthusiast we have two lizards and so I said great a turtle let's bring another reptile into the house," Gasset said.
The people who live here said this is a sight for sore eyes.
"We have people stop all hours of the day and night," Gasset said. "People that are just driving down our street through the neighborhood just stop and come and take pictures."
"I think it's such a great idea, it's just beautiful work," said Donna Bleau.
Since this project has started, people have been rooting for more.