TALENTED SCULPTOR GANDINI GIVES ROME'S DEAD TREES NEW LIFE

A 22-year-old Roman sculptor by the name of Andrea Gandini, is making a name for himself by turning Rome's dead tree stumps into pieces of sculpture.

Gandini, who started to carve trees about five years ago, was recently seen working away on his 66th stump in the Villa Pamphili park. There are no shortage of stumps to choose from, but the Police are not too happy about his activities. However, of the three hundred thousand trees in the vicinity, many are dying and Gandini wanted to do something about it.

He says, 'I had been sculpting wood since I was a kid, in my garage. Then I chose to carve a stump that was out on the street. That is how I chose to start carving stumps in Rome.' He also told reporters he liked to meet people when working on the stumps and is donating them to the public.

He also said that it took him about a week to polish off one sculpture and said it was a passion of his.

From the admiring glances he was receiving it is clear the Great Gandini is a hit with the public many of whom snap away on their phones.

Gandini locates the stumps on his website, and the sculptures are becoming a buzzing tourist attraction. Even tour guides include his fantastic work in their packages.

Gandini also reckoned the stumps have features which make them perfect for carving on and that there were thousands in Rome waiting to be carved on.

Unfortunately the Rome authorities have been less enthusiastic. Though there is no law against people from carving dead tree stumps, police have threatened to ban him from historic areas using tough new rules.

Gandini says he loves nature and it disturbs him when the trees become a hazard to the public. They frequently fall and cause havoc during storms, and in fact nearly 86,000 need to be specially maintained or removed.

Gandini commented that if the neglect of trees continued there would be none left.

We at Art-Eklecto say BRAVO MR GANDINI for you good works!

You can see more of Andrea's truly wonderful work here: http://andreagandini.art/

We love the sculpture entitled 'Veduta di Accadia'.