Local chainsaw artist has piece with sentimental value stolen in Hope, B.C.
A local chainsaw artist is trying to keep positive after one of her pieces in British Columbia was stolen.
Marina Cole travelled to the neighbouring province last year to complete a piece in a competition, and found out last week it had been stolen.
“This is the first time this has happened to me,” she said. “In four years of carving, I have had one piece go missing and I think that’s important. All of my pieces around Medicine Hat and everywhere else are still up and people are enjoying them.
“It’s really upsetting that someone would take a piece of art and I’m really hoping it gets returned safely.”
Cole says the piece was sitting in a compound in Hope, B.C. and was ready to be transported within Hope to a new location.
“There’s a bunch of other pieces where mine was sitting,” said Cole. “They went and cut the fence, and cut her off at her boots basically. They also cut the horse off and took her.”
The piece is a sculpture of a young woman, her dog and a horse. Cole says it has a special meaning to her.
“This was actually a piece I had dedicated to my daughter,” she said. “It’s just so weird to have a piece like this go missing, and who knows where it is now and who has it? I just don’t understand why someone would want to take that part of the piece.
“My daughter loves horses and I figured I’d do something nice for her. I love the idea of her going to see that sculpture when shes older, maybe even with her own children. “This piece means a lot to me and I really hope it can return safely.”
The case is now in the hands of police, Cole says.
“I wasn’t really ever told about this, I found out about it when my friend shared it online,” she said.
Cole says she put 32 hours of work into the piece during a woodworking competition.