Image from facebook.com/ChainsawSpirit

By Chris Brown

Marina Cole aka Chainsaw Spirit

Medicine Hat artist carving out a touching Remembrance Day memorial

Nov 8, 2020 | 9:01 AM

Armed with a chainsaw, sandpaper and finishing tools, Marina Cole has turned old trees and dead wood into everything from dogs and dragons to mermaids and cowboys, many of which can be seen around Medicine Hat.

Her work has been seen by people all over the world, and Cole – perhaps better known by her company name Chainsaw Spirit – has been praised for her heartfelt pieces.

The carving she’s currently working on is only going to grow that notoriety and the emotions her work stirs in others.

The piece – a sitting bench flanked by members of the military – will be a nod to the past, present and future.

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“There’s going to be on one side an elderly veteran. He’ll be kneeling at a gravestone and his granddaughter will have her head up against him feeling sorry for him because he has his hand on his face and is obviously upset because it’s bringing him back to his memories and his friends that he lost,” explained Cole this week. “And then on the other side there will be a female navy (member) and she’s going to be a younger one, a veteran of our times now.”

The Medicine Hat-based artist has been carving it since Wednesday outside the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 76 in Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island. She has to have it done before Remembrance Day.

Cole was to participate in the town’s Timberfest in May. When it was cancelled due to COVID-19, community leaders decided they still wanted Cole’s work in the town. The legion stepped forward with the idea of creating a piece to commemorate Nov. 11.

Just being chosen to create the piece has already swelled her heart and soul.

“I don’t even know how to explain the feeling I got,” she said. “I feel so blessed to be able to do this and to make a piece that is really going to touch the soul and not just the veterans but everyone around.”

Cole’s work around Medicine Hat can been seen at Kiwanis Central Park, Dan McCharles Park, Gas City Campground and in many front yards.

Learn more about Marina Cole and Chainsaw Spirit at chainsawspirit.ca or on Facebook.

Image from facebook.com/ChainsawSpirit