Kim Kersey-Asbury’s beginner ceramics course was intended to teach some of the very basics of the art – the tools and materials, and the kind of “coiling” technique learned by school children making pots. Laura Gifford and Rich Comeau of Jaffrey walked into her class with something else in mind.
“They walked in and were like, ‘I want to make a giant face,’” Kersey-Asbury said. “I said, OK, let’s make it happen.”
The giant face they Jaffrey couple was making wasn’t any old project. They joined the class for the purpose of creating a new dimension to “Wilbur” – a sugar maple in the front yard of their Turnpike Road home, which has become something of a local character and landmark.
A few years ago, the Giffords decided to take down the tree, which was ailing. But as tree crews were removing branches, Gifford said she started to see a figure emerge, and asked the crew to stop – she had seen the face of Wilbur.
“It was perfect,” Gifford said.
Wilbur is an ancient sugar maple, which Gifford said may date all the way back to when Turnpike Road was the access to Main Street for horse and carriage. She said she was reluctant to take the tree down, but when she saw his “personality” emerge, she knew she had to leave his trunk intact as long as she could.
Since, Comeau and Gifford have added “faces” to their tree, with polymer eyes complete with thick eyelashes and currently safely donning a face mask made from a plastic storage bin lid at the top of the tree, and a second face with a broom head for a mustache at the bottom.
On Saturday, the two added a third face, with elements they created in Kersey-Asbury’s ceramics class.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.