HONESDALE, PA — Since March, Honesdale borough officials, board members of the Wayne County Arts Alliance (WCAA), and Known Grove Sacred Land Stewardship’s Keenan Gruver have been pursuing a local project to turn two tree stumps in Honesdale’s Central Park into works of art. 

Following a design submission process and a voting process that brought in more than 460 votes, local residents have chosen two designs for the north and east stumps.

“The first step was to solicit designs from the public, and a wide variety of students and professional artists brought their A-game to the call,” WCAA Lisa Glover board member wrote in her online blog at www.lisathemaker.com.

“In total, more than 52 designs came in for the two stumps. A group of deliberators including park neighbors, non-participating artists, parents, a borough rep and a middle schooler had the challenging task of choosing three finalists for each stump,” the blog continues. “Fortunately, a thorough review of the submissions uncovered several themes, three of which the deliberators felt would fit the park well. We’re calling them ‘Forest Spirits,’ ‘Flow and Fauna’ and ‘Forage Fantasy.’”

For both stumps, the “Flow and Fauna” designs raked in more than half of all the votes submitted. The early sketches of the design can be seen below.

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“This theme was very much led by Sadie N. 's beautifully drawn design. Her two playful bears, and the flowing shape of the logs were kept with minor modifications to better fit the taller stump,” Glover wrote. “There were many other designs that came in with a variety of animals and naturescapes, including eagle drawings from Bodie B. and Mary E., and bountiful nature scenes from Kristine W. and Heather S.”

The winning designs will now be fully rendered, tweaked for feasibility by the wood carving artist, and will be sent to the borough office for final approval. 

“In the meantime, we’re still seeking funding to make the carving possible. Many people have kindly donated their time to this project, including submitting artists, deliberators, and project managers,” according to Glover’s blog. “That said, it’s important to pay professionals for their work, and two carvings of this size will cost around $3,000 to have made by a professional. If you’re able to contribute a few dollars to make this project come to life, you can donate to the Friends of the Honesdale Parks; just be sure to add a note that it’s for the Stump Project!”