AUSTIN (KXAN) — After this month’s ice storm damaged millions of trees in Austin, one resident is turning her destroyed tree into a work of art.
For 32 years, Austin resident Deborah Alexander had a box elder tree planted in her yard, one grown from a twig from her late grandparents’ tree. Then came this February’s ice storm, leaving her with nothing but a stump in its place.
“When the guy came and cut [the tree] down, he left a pretty big chunk of it left,” she said. “And we were kind of looking at it, and I was like, ‘oh, we should carve something out of it.'”
Instead of removing the tree stump, Alexander decided to find someone who could carve it into a work of art. One of Alexander’s friends recommended Justin Foster, from Florence, Texas, who carves things out of chainsaws.
After an ice storm destroyed one Austin woman’s tree, she had it turned into a carved sculpture of an elephant. (KXAN Photo/Todd Bynum) 
After an ice storm destroyed one Austin woman’s tree, she had it turned into a carved sculpture of an elephant. (KXAN Photo/Todd Bynum) 
After an ice storm destroyed one Austin woman’s tree, she had it turned into a carved sculpture of an elephant. (KXAN Photo/Todd Bynum) 
After an ice storm destroyed one Austin woman’s tree, she had it turned into a carved sculpture of an elephant. (KXAN Photo/Todd Bynum)
Now, a carved sculpture of an elephant sits in the same spot her grandparents’ tree once stood.
“I said, ‘well, have you ever done an elephant?’ And he said, ‘no, but I’ll give it a try,'” she recounted.
She added she got inspiration for the design from her own personal collection of elephants. From it, people have found newfound love and appreciation for Alexander’s yard, stopping by to take pictures of the repurposed masterpiece.
