Nancy Newbold was taking her morning constitutional Wednesday when she happened upon a noisy scene in front of Wallace Elementary. Rob Banda, chainsaw artist and owner of Rob’s Creations, was carving a wolf’s head from a dead tree in front of the school.
“I heard the sound so I looked, and that’s when I noticed the man on the ladder,” Newbold said. “Then I saw the wolf’s face. It was wonderful — what an amazing artist he is.”
Newbold is a frequent visitor at the State Fair of Texas, and she’s seen chainsaw artists there carve creatures of all kinds from logs and hunks of wood. She lingered a few minutes to watch as Banda expertly carved “WOLVES” to represent the Wallace mascot.
“I loved it,” said Newbold, who stood across the street so she wouldn’t interfere with the artist’s work. “I was wishing I had a tree in front of my house so I could have him carve something for me. Years ago, we cut a pecan tree down, and that would have been so nice. Talented people do such amazing things.”
Wallace’s PTA hired Rob’s Creations to transform the tree, which stands on the school’s front lawn and died after a freeze.
“It was such a beautiful entrance, this tree,” PTA President Lorin Anderson told NBC 5. “We could still turn it around and have something really meaningful, really wonderful, and frankly joyful, and just good old plain fun!”
Classes begin August 12.
Wallace Elementary is at 9921 Kirkhaven Drive.
from Adovcate Lake Highlighds July 31, 2025
By Carol Toler | July 31st, 2025
