Wood Charmers in Moore Square

Wood sculptor Corey Lancaster’s most recent project for Raleigh City Parks is a tribute to the wildlife in urban spaces
by Ayn-Monique Klahre

It’s a little thrill to see as you’re walking through Moore Square: a pair of eyes peeking out from a hollow of a tree, a hawk and an owl nearby. They’re close enough to touch but unafraid of visitors — mainly because they’re carved out of wood.

The wood was a centuries-old White oak tree on the grounds that had to come down. “It’s sort of an homage to the tree, giving it a second life,” says Moore Square director David Gill. “We wanted something that would speak to the wildlife in the park. The number carved in its trunk, 1792, represents the year the park was founded.”

They enlisted sculptor Corey Lancaster to make the piece. You may have seen his work in other places: his Squirrel held court in Nash Square from 2019 until earlier this year, when it was retired due to decay, and he’s made sculptures for other places including Durant Nature Preserve and Pullen and Roanoke Parks. “It’s pretty special, getting to carve a sculpture for a place like Pullen Park, where I used to play in the sandbox,” he says.

Lancaster is self-taught, one of the few in this area who does this kind of work. His first foray into the art came around 2007 at the urging of his grandfather. “He bought me a chainsaw and asked me to make some mushrooms for his yard,” Lancaster says. He enjoyed doing it more than he enjoyed his job running a restaurant, and soon his side hustle turned into full-time work. (His first-ever commission was for a beach house; the client wanted him to carve a pair of flip-flops out of a big cedar log. “I thought, I think I can handle this,” he laughs.) He now gets a lot of commissions for noble animals like eagles and bears but personally likes to play with more “out-of-the-box stuff” like dragons or comic book characters.

When clients bring him a large log or tree trunk to carve, Lancaster will start by cutting it in half or quarters, trying to get a strong piece and preserve the ring structure. He’s learned what to avoid, including seams down the middle of two-lobed trees, which might make for a weak base, or bits of metal like old nails or hooks from someone using it for a sign or a hammock decades ago. “Especially with these 100-year old trees that have been in someone’s yard or a city park, there’s no telling what’s going to be in them,” he says. Lancaster usually uses about four chainsaws of various sizes to complete a project, from a large one to block out the rough shape to smaller ones for deeper, detailed work.

During the summer, Lancaster is a fixture at fairs across the country, doing speed-carving shows. In the fall, you might find him at harvest festivals or pumpkin patches like the Phillips Farms in Cary. He usually saves his sculpting projects for the winter, when it’s more comfortable to work outside and he has more time in his schedule.

There are plenty of reasons to visit Moore Square over the next few months — Jazz in the Square and Movies on the Lawn continue through September, Lucky Tree Cafe recently opened and there is a holiday market in the works. When you do, say hi to these friendly critters!