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Residents carry chip when it comes to woodcarver
The animals are part of a onepiece whimsical sculpture created from the remains of a large dead pine tree in the backyard of a home overlooking the lake owned by Gary Oppenheimer. The intricate, 20foot sculpture is visible to neighbors and boaters and features lifesize animals including a tall giraffe that morphs into the head and front shoulder of an elephant. Below the elephant stands a gorilla. High on the sculpture on two of the three large branches are an eagle with outstretched wings and a bear climbing toward a honeycomb surrounded by bees attached by wire. Lake breezes move the wires making the bees appear to be flying. "It's a showpiece. It adds to the ambience and variety of the lake," said Westlake resident David Klein, who has seen the art by boat. But others are less enthusiastic. Although many boaters came by to congratulate artist Stacy Poitras while the Woodland Hills man was at work on the sculpture, someone filed a complaint with the community's homeowner group, the Southshore Property Owners Association.
Oppenheimer also was cited for failing to complete new landscaping at his home within a certain time frame. He had planned to tear down the existing home and rebuild. A hearing for Oppenheimer before the board of directors was scheduled for last night at The Emmons Company, the Thousand Oaks management firm for the homeowners association. Emmons association manager Ilene Decker did not return calls left by The Acorn. If the board finds Oppenheimer in violation he may incur monetary penalties including a $5,000 fine and legal action to enforce compliance, as well as $100 to $300 fines for each notice. "I'd like the complaining party to stand up," Oppenheimer said. Both Oppenheimer and Poitras were surprised by the letter. They said boaters have come by to see the sculpture and have returned with their children and grandchildren to share in the experience. "People have been pulling up on their boats clapping or saying bravo or thank you," Poitras said. Among the Westlake Village residents who have viewed the artwork by boat are Klein and Karl Klessig, husband of Westlake Village City Councilmember Philippa Klessig. "When someone goes to the expense of sharing something like that with the community I think it's very nice," Klein said. "I see no problem with it." Klessig likes the sculpture and says that to him it's no different than if Oppenheimer had purchased a sculpture of a bear or other animal from Poitras and brought it back to his backyard. "Nobody would have had a problem with that," Klessig said. "The tree would have been removed otherwise." Rather than cutting down the dead tree, Oppenheimer thought of creating art that he, his seven grandchildren and others could enjoy. He contacted Poitras at his Kanan Road studio where he carves other large pieces of wood and commissioned him for the Westlake job. Poitras worked on the sculpture for a month using various sized chainsaws. He burned the wood to create the gorilla and the black wings of the eagle and used a water-based stain for the gray color in the elephant and the bronze in the giraffe. For the animals' realistic looking eyeballs Poitras used a special stylus tool called a Dremel. "This is the biggest single piece I have ever made," said Poitras, who has worked in the wood medium for 22 years. During the time it took to create the Oppenheimer sculpture he said he received only positive feedback from boaters. "I think it's very pretty, very unique," Karen Jefferson said. |
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