Dead tree at Phelps Grove Park being transformed into sculpture
Springfield’s Phelps Grove Park is about to gain an unexpected landmark: a 13‑foot cherry tree that died in 2025 is being reshaped into a nature‑themed sculpture. Sculptor Louis Medlock began carving the trunk on Sept. 14, and the work is slated to be finished within a month, weather permitting.
Medlock’s path to wood carving is as unconventional as the piece itself. After training as a chef at the College of the Ozarks, he turned to ice sculpting, winning the 2024 Ice Alaska World Ice Art Championships Double Block Competition and creating installations on cruise ships across the globe. Now he brings that precision to the park’s wooden canvas.
The design will echo the surrounding landscape, featuring a red‑tailed hawk, owls, squirrels, a fox, and sunflowers drawn from the nearby flower garden. The wood will retain its natural hue, highlighted with staining and sealed with polyurethane to protect the details.
Community collaboration has been central to the project. Master gardener Connie Ryan and volunteers from the Phelps Grove Flower Garden helped identify local flora and fauna to include, while longtime park supporter Fran Giglio provides funding. The Springfield‑Greene County Park Board supplies scaffolding and logistical assistance.
For Medlock, the sculpture is a personal tribute to a place that has marked many chapters of his life. “Every road around Phelps Grove is a route from a former time in my life,” he says, grateful to create something his friends and family can experience in person rather than through photographs.