'I'm proud to have that in a cemetery': Artist carves statue from tree in Hearne

An artist from Galveston, Texas carved a statue of Jesus from a dead cedar tree at Saint Mary's Cemetery.

• The sculpture took two days to complete
• The artist, Della Meredith, has been woodcarving for 10 years
• Della Meredith is known as chainsawdella on TikTok

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:

"I like that my art makes other people happy," said Texas artist, Della Meredith.

Della Meredith is an artist and professional woodcarver.

"Wood carving is just a very addictive type of art that it's just something you pick up and you don't want to put down," she said.

She recently completed a carving at St. Mary's Cemetery in Hearne.

"It's something that you can take pictures with and interact with," Meredith said.

A once dead cedar tree overlooking Norwood Lane has now been transformed into a statue of Jesus.

Administrator of St. Mary's Cemetery, John Zeig, says he's been wanting to make improvements to the cemetery, and thought this was the perfect opportunity.

"I was going to do just like a Blessed Virgin Mary, but I thought, no, let me do something with Jesus," Zeig said.

But that's not the only reason.

"My parents bought this plot right here in front of it many years ago because they enjoyed, they liked the tree," he said.

The community has welcomed the new statue with open arms.

Neighbor in Hearne, Raymond Lehoski told 15ABC that it's a great addition to Saint Mary's Cemetery.

"Well, it really looks nice, I mean, I'm proud to have that in a cemetery," Lehoski said.

Zeig has plans for future beautifications at Saint Mary's, and will have the carving blessed.

"I will have this statue blessed in a couple of months," Zeig said.