Mermaid finds a home in Riverhead
A mermaid has landed just a few blocks from Long Island Sound.
She’s standing nine feet tall, carved out of a locust tree in Andrea Rubino’s backyard in Riverhead.
“I had a situation with that tree in my backyard,” Ms. Rubino said. “It was dumping a lot of leaves and branches all over my property, my deck and my neighbors’ property. Rather than take it down and having a stump there, I thought of creating a work of art.”
In June, she contacted Wading River wood carver Rich Anderson, who works out of a Manorville shop. Some of his creations can be seen on top of the posts on Riverhead’s boardwalk along the Peconic River.
The chainsaws at Ms. Rubino’s house began buzzing in July. To sculpt, he donned protective gear like headphones, Kevlar chaps for his legs, heavy duty work gloves, a hat and safety glasses; he said that “using a chainsaw is dangerous,” especially when “pushing the tool in a way that it was never designed to be used.”
The hardwood tree, squeezed in between her white fence and evergreens in the corner of her property beside her deck, was reduced to about 10 feet. It took the 66-year-old Anderson about five days in early July, with the temperature hovering around 90, to sculpt the mermaid.
He worked with both large and small chainsaws, oiling the machines to chisel the wood into the stuff of myth. He alternated between a dime-size tip at the end of the saw to carve the detailed mermaid’s scales, and a larger chainsaw to do the rest.
Mr. Anderson also used a flame on her “to bring out the texture of the wood and burn off little fibers. It’s a Japanese technique to remove residue, which seals off the wood and preserves it. You can see her scales and hair so much better.”
“He was very sweet and patient, and he wanted to make me happy. It’s exhausting work,” said Ms. Rubino. The proud owner said she always liked mermaids. “It’s much prettier than just having a stump. Even if Rich does another mermaid, it won’t look like mine.”
The completed mermaid’s trunk is about 18 inches in diameter. She’s smiling, with her right hand poised on her left hip. Row upon row of intricately carved scales cover her lower body; her russet brown locks cover her torso.
The final step was paint and polyurethane, a coating that protects the work of art for about six years — after which, it would need to be recoated. He said Ms. Rubino’s statute can last 20 years on the ground with maintained upkeep. Pressure treated wood was placed at the bottom of the mermaid’s tale to stop termites from munching away at the mythical lady.
A sculptor for decades and a former art teacher in Port Jefferson for close to four decades, Mr. Anderson began focusing on his craft while working for his father-in-law’s Long Island wood and coal business.
“One day, he said, ‘Carve something that people can recognize,’ so I carved a bear from a 4-foot-high pine tree that we had to cut down because it was blocking the view to the river.”
Soon after, the bear led to more carved bears, eagles, angels and owls and then Mr. Anderson started attending carving competitions.
“It’s an art form and it’s worldwide now,” he said. “I competed for a number of years in the tri-state area. I also used wood carving as a teaching tool. I did a demo every year for my students and showed them how as a practicing artist it applied to what they were doing.”
All of Anderson’s work is secured by word of mouth. He doesn’t have a web page and is not on social media. “I’m retired now six years, and I’m more than busy. The work hasn’t let up,” he said.
