The sculpture was initially carved by carpenter ants and pileated woodpeckers on a tree along a road. When the tree was removed for safety reasons, the artists took the pieces to their studio to reconstruct the sculpture. They drilled holes through each piece and reassembled it using rods, preserving the carvings. Additional supports were added to stabilize the sculpture. The reconstructed totem was then placed outside the studio.

1. Pileated Woodpecker Totem
A collaborative work with Mother
Nature
Pileated Woodpecker Totem © 2011 Bob Turan, Beaver Lane Studios, bobturan@rocketmail.com

2. Project narrative
• The sculpture was started by carpenter ants,
and was completed by a pair of Pileated
Woodpeckers. Deconstruction was by the Town
of New Baltimore (NY) Highway Department and
reconstruction was carried out by the artists.
• We had noticed a tree on our road a couple of
years ago and were struck by the drama of its
appearance… which just kept getting better and
better! When we came home one day to find that
the highway department had taken it down to
prevent it from falling on the road, we knew we
had to get to work. The road crew had cut it into
stove-length pieces, so it was easy to move into
the studio. There it was studied for some time
and the beginnings of the concept evolved.
Pileated Woodpecker Totem © 2011 Bob Turan, Beaver Lane Studios, bobturan@rocketmail.com

3. The idea was to string the pieces back together with long,
threaded rods, being careful not to disturb the carving done
by the woodpeckers.
Reconstruction began by building a “drilling sled” that would
allow the accurate drilling of two long holes through each
piece with a ship auger. Once the holes were drilled, the
wood was treated with clear penetrating epoxy resin to
“petrify” it. After the resin had cured, painting, masking and
more painting was done to highlight the areas carved by the
ants and birds.
The re-assembly experimented with and without various
spacers, and culminated with the final approach which
included the welded steel spacers, base, buttresses and
crown, all designed to frame the work and to provide the
stability that the internal connecting rods could not.
The work was sited in a level area outside of the studio, and
re-assembled piece by piece.
Pileated Woodpecker Totem © 2011 Bob Turan, Beaver Lane Studios, bobturan@rocketmail.com

4. Pileated Woodpecker Totem © 2011 Bob Turan, Beaver Lane Studios, bobturan@rocketmail.com

5. Pileated Woodpecker Totem © 2011 Bob Turan, Beaver Lane Studios, bobturan@rocketmail.com

6. Pileated Woodpecker Totem © 2011 Bob Turan, Beaver Lane Studios, bobturan@rocketmail.com

7. Pileated Woodpecker Totem © 2011 Bob Turan, Beaver Lane Studios, bobturan@rocketmail.com

8. Pileated Woodpecker Totem © 2011 Bob Turan, Beaver Lane Studios, bobturan@rocketmail.com