Duncan man spends 7 years transforming 6,000-pound tree burl into massive art piece
The huge maple in the front yard was one of those trees that helped turn Glen’s house into a home.
“I loved the tree. My kids played on it and in it,” Glen says, showing me old pictures of his daughters smiling around it. “It was a very special tree.”
Glen says he tried everything to save the tree until he realized it was beyond repair and had to be cut it down.
“But I thought maybe I should save the burl,” he says, pointing to a picture of a large bulbous growth at the base of the maple’s trunk.
Glen wondered if he could cut part of the burl off and have the wood turned into a couple commemorative bowls or something.
But then Glen discovered it was just the tip of the iceberg; the burl was growing three feet underground.
“It took me a long time,” he says before smiling at his attempt to excavate the huge burl with a shovel. “I dug it by hand.”
Despite being a professional backhoe operator, Glen felt a strong compulsion to not damage the burl, and keep the 6,000-pound piece of wood intact,
“I have to try to do this,” he remembers thinking. “Everyone told me I couldn’t do it.”
Three weeks later, Glen did do it. And then — despite no previous experience — he started transforming its 350-sq-feet of surface area.
“I was just known as the crazy guy working on the burl,” he laughs.
Glen spent 20 hours a week sanding it and polishing it for seven years; revealing intricate patterns in the burl’s wood that he found mesmerizing.
“I would come out and just be – I wouldn’t think about my job, I wouldn’t think about anything,” he says. “I would just concentrate [on the burl] and it was like a therapy.”
It wasn’t just him. Glen shows me a guest book filled with signatures. He says he’s welcomed thousands of curious visitors who spotted the burl at the end of his driveway and witnessed their moods improve.
“I show it to them and the reaction I get, it’s incredible,” he says, showing me pictures of babies, seniors and people of all ages in between smiling around the burl. “It makes them feel good.”
Because of all the goodwill it seems to inspire, Glen hopes the burl will one day find a new home where it can be seen by even more people — like an airport, museum, or even an art gallery.
“It is a piece of art. [Although] I didn’t really think of myself as an artist,” Glen smiles, “It’s just a way of life for me really.”
Which brings us to the new life Glen found sprouting close to where the big maple was once growing.
“It was obviously a baby from that tree,” Glen smiles, before saying he nurtured the seedling for years before replanting it in the same place its parent had once stood — where it now towers above the yard.
I ask why he went to the effort to care for the baby tree. Glen takes a moment before taking a big breath.
“[It’s] giving back to nature,” he says emotionally, before gesturing to the burl. “For giving me that.”
It's an expression of gratitude for all the joy the burl’s brought to so many.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Ex-tabloid publisher testifies he scooped up possibly damaging tales to shield his old friend Trump
As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, his old friend at the National Enquirer was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them from the public eye.
Here's why provinces aren't following Saskatchewan's lead on the carbon tax home heating fight
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye make it four NFL drafts with quarterbacks going 1-3
Caleb Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades.