A dead tree in the backyard of an Elmwood Park home has taken on new life as a piece of art.
The Palumbo family’s 71-year-old tree, located behind their home on the 1900 block of 78th Avenue, died in the fall of 2014. Although the family removed a majority of the tree, they decided to keep a portion of the trunk in place.
Over the past several months, the tree has been transformed.
Peter Palumbo, 47, who grew up in the home, thought that something could be done with the rest of the tree, which stands about seven feet tall. His friend, Mark Leverenz, had been doing tree carving with chainsaws and thought he could create something special with the remaining tree.
“He has a passion for his art,” Palumbo said.
He said his mother, Judith Palumbo, got into the process as well, giving Leverenz an idea of what she wanted to see on the tree.
“She got into it,” he said. “She drew some of the flowers she wanted to see on the tree.”
And for about five days, Leverenz went to work, his loud chainsaws attracting a lot of attention from neighbors. Palumbo said he had to haul away 15 bags of sawdust.
“I had been sculpting with chainsaws for a year-and-a-half, so I’ve had plenty of practice,” Leverenz said. “His mother came up with the idea, and we put our heads together and created a masterpiece”
Now, the tree that Palumbo and his brother played around when they were growing up has become a work of art. Palumbo said his mother often sits and admires the tree from the window in the back of the home while neighbors taking a walk often stop and admire it.
“It brings a smile to her face,” Peter Palumbo said. “[Judith] misses the tree and how it provided shade on hot days, but she’s happy about how it all turned out.”
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