Alert Bay resident Jamie Taylor is so proud of how his island community of roughly 1,200 people defeated 30 cases of COVID-19, he created a beautiful handmade piece of art to commemorate the moment.
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Taylor and his 11-year-old grandson, who was visiting for the first five weeks of the pandemic, noted that after they had carved a sword, a machete and a spear out of wood, they started talking about creating a bigger piece that depicted the communal efforts of the village, showing how he felt they dealt with the cluster outbreak of COVID-19 cases.
Taylor added his grandson was very excited by the idea, saying, “‘Oh yeah! Gramps, we sooo have to do that. Can I have the axe when it’s all over?’ It still makes me chuckle whenever I think of it, and the many other things he says.”
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After that, the two of them started to work. The design features a chopping block made from a big red cedar round. The COVID-19 monster is made from the same material after Taylor modified it with a chainsaw. The heart-axe is made of plywood.
“Our little village crushed the curve with love and commitment, like splitting a chunk of knotty firewood,” said Taylor, who added that the piece is proving to be quite popular, as he hears people slowing down all day long to take a look at it.
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