A Searsport motel is turning heads with its newest addition: a statue of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, carved out of a tree on its front lawn.
The concept of the statue started taking shape roughly 16 months ago, when the Yardarm Motel’s new owners, Wesley and Jenna Murphy, bought the property and noticed the damage to a large poplar on the grounds. Several big limbs had fallen, and a tree expert advised that the tree would have to be cut down.
But instead of chopping it, the Murphys got creative: they decided to leave it in its place and turn it into a centerpiece.
“I just like Poseidon being in charge of all things nautical, in general — the sea, the weather, shipping, god of the ocean — so he’s kind of the overall controller, seer,” said Wesley Murphy.
It’s received an enthusiastic reaction so far. People in passing cars honk, wave or shout their approval for the monument taking shape.
Josh Landry, the artist behind the project, has been chipping away at his 20-foot high, 4-foot wide wooden canvas for the past week. For the last 23 years, he’s been using chainsaws to carve out similar wooden sculptures, which often depict animals and have included one large display outside the Bangor home of Stephen King.
Chainsaw sculptor Josh Landry works on the base of a Poseidon statue at the Yardarm Motel in Searsport. Credit: Sasha Ray / BDN
That makes him part of a small but growing number of Mainers who have embraced the forestry tool for more artistic purposes.
The Murphys had been impressed by Landry’s work and have given him creative freedom over the Poseidon sculpture.
Among the features he’s added to it are a compass rose, a heron and the tentacles of an octopus starting to unfurl at the base of the sculpture. Next, he would like to add a school of fish, an anchor, and perhaps a starfish, as well as the name of the hotel on the base.
“This is one of the carvings that I really enjoy doing, because it’s so different from what I do a lot,” Landry said. “I like being challenged, and this piece, I can say, is a challenge. It really lets my creativeness go wild when someone lets me do a piece like this. I think next week is going to be even more fun, adding all the details.”
According to the Murphys, Landry has delivered beyond expectations.
“I think it’s going to be great for tourism, and I hope that everyone else is going to enjoy it as much as we do,” Wesley said.
The hotel has long been steeped in the area’s maritime history. Its name is a reference to the side pole on the top part of a ship mast, and several of the guest rooms are painted ocean blue. It features another statue of sea captain Marlboro Packard, who lived there with his wife when it was a private residence in the 1800s, nearly a century before the motel was built in the early 1950s.
It should take Landry another week to complete the piece before adding finishings to protect it against the elements.
“I hope that people who enjoy Josh’s work can seek it out and travel to see it, and we certainly welcome that,” Wesley Murphy said. “I do hope people come from afar to see this art, because that’s what this really is. It’s an incredible art form, and we happen to have a really amazing artist.”