From fallen trees to lasting art: One man’s tribute in the wake of Hurricane Helene

There’s a constant rotation of carvings outside of ‘Mountain Mike’s Whetsone Woodworks’ in Maggie Valley, North Carolina.

“You can’t miss it- we’ve got lots of carvings out front,” said Mike Ayers.

Normally, the sculptures are enough to make those driving by make an additional stop on their way through town. But business has not been usual- not at all.

“That’s all you can do,” said Mike. “Hold your head up and try to make a positive out of it.”

Mike is an artist of subtraction, shaving away layer by layer until he’s left with something beautiful.

“Trying to remove all the stuff you don’t want, to get to what you do want,” said Mike. “Remove the bad stuff as much as you can.”

Some bad stuff cannot be removed so easily. The turtle he’s working on is a reminder of that.

“This is going to be a masterpiece,” said Mike. “I want to spend as much time that I can spare on it- because I know where it’s going. I know the meaning behind it.”

He knows where it’s going- and what it came from. It’s from a pine tree that Hurricane Helene knocked down.

“It brings a tear to my eye,” said Mike. “People are still in tents, people lost their homes.”

This sculpture is part of an art project that’s spanning Western North Carolina, called ‘Echoes of the Forest.’ Woodworkers from all over are taking fallen trees and turning them into pieces of art.

“This is going to mean something for years to come; it’s probably something that’s going to be remembered for 150-200 years,” said Mike.

Every second he can spare, Mike is working on the turtle. He doesn’t have much time to go around at the moment. “I’ve just been, just hanging on,” said Mike. “Hoping tourism will come back, and it has not.”

He’s gone from seeing 500 to 600 people a month to only two or three, which is why he’s put his shop for lease or for sale.

“They see it and leave and forget about it, we are still here living it,” said Mike.

Helene continues to take and take.

He’s just hoping there will be something beautiful left when it’s all done.