Stebbing is a professional chain saw sculptor from Thurmont, Md., and this was his latest project, created at the behest of. Seal works for the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission. For the last six years he has been identifying dead or diseased trees throughout Prince George’s County and hiring carvers like Stebbing to transform them into art.
After assembling the scaffold, Stebbing had gotten to work, donning ear protectors and firing up his chain saw. “I have a couple ideas,” he said as he sliced off huge disks of wood. Stebbing, 40, was a plumber for 14 years, then went to work at a furniture company in Frederick. The fancier pieces had a lot of detailed carving on them. “That got me into carving,” he said.