If you’re walking, taking a bike ride or enjoying a nice picnic in East Muskingum Park in Marietta you will probably see Perl Totman, 85, of Marietta chiseling away at one of the park’s damaged ash trees, creating beautiful artwork.

Totman has been carving wood and trees since 1978, when it all began as a hobby to keep himself busy, but then slowly became one of his passions.

“This is entertaining to me. I don’t have to meet anyone’s standards except my very own,” he said.

His project in the park started when Totman noticed the damaged, dying trees caused by ash borers in the park, and thought instead of cutting the trees down, why not turn them into a novelty?

Totman is currently working on a piece modeled after one of his very own sketches of a colonial military man.

The City of Marietta has cut off the tops of the damaged trees, and left a remaining eight to 10-foot trunk as a blank canvas for the carvers.

Totman has been approved by the City of Marietta to carve or allow any wood carver to create pieces of art on any of the nine damaged trees in the park.

“We’re inviting anyone who can carve to come and display their expertise on these trees, and that will make them a novelty, which will save the total loss of the tree,” said Totman.

The damaged trees have been roped off with caution tape to let carvers know exactly what trees are to be used.

“Carvers don’t have to wait, they can go ahead and start on any tree they like, and they can do any type of carving they want,” said Totman. “The city has listed me as Perl Totman and Associates which covers anybody who wants to carve.”

Not only does carving artwork into the trees prevent the loss of something beautiful in the park, but it also saves the city money.

“This is a great way for the city to save some money on stump removal at $600-$800 a stump, and Perl is looking for artists all across the area to come and carve whatever they please,” said Grady Smith of the Marietta Tree Commission. “It’s a win-win situation.”

According to Smith the carvings will not last forever, but until that time comes, they will treat these trees as art, and plant new trees around them.

Totman says he has received a great amount of support from the City of Marietta and the Marietta Tree Commission.

“I went down and met with Perl and observed what he was doing and I noticed the people walking by and they seemed to really like what they were seeing,” said Smith.

Kristen Lord, 21, of Whipple enjoys her runs in the park, but also loves to see artists like Totman, creating something beautiful out of something damaged.

“As a painter, I appreciate any form of art, so I enjoy seeing his carvings rather than a dead tree stump just hanging out in the park,” she said.

Totman has been working on his current piece for a week now, putting in two to six hours a day. He expects to have the tree done within a couple of months.

His current tree carving will be two-and-a-half to three inches deep which is all being done with six different types of chisels and mallets.

Totman said he hates to see the trees die, but he’s glad he’s able to give himself and other carvers the opportunity to create something great in the local neighborhoods.

“Even though we have lost the life of a tree, we can create a novelty and have people exhibit their abilities, and have the neighborhoods benefit from the local artists,” said Totman. “How neat would it be to have your grandchildren walk through the park some day and say “Hey my grandpa or grandma did that.”

Totman is a part of the Dayton Carver’s Guild, and has previously done other tree carving in other areas.

When he isn’t carving trees, he also carves and sells small items such as toothpaste squeezers in the shape of crocodile heads and squirrel note holders.

Totman says it has taken him years of experience and practice to get him to where he is now.

“Like I tell people who are learning to carve do what you can,” he said. “Every artist has their own vision.”