A SCULPTOR ordered by council inspectors to clear up tree branches in his garden has come up with a startling solution – an 8ft high wooly mammoth.
Denis Carbonaro (corr) was told to get rid of the chopped cypress branches at his semi-detached home in Dalgety Bay, Fife.
Denis, 46, said he “dreamed” the solution to his problem, woke up, and set to work.
The resulting mammoth, named Woody, now towers over the foliage in his garden and has even been decorated with fairy lights.
Woody, which took five days to create, has become a local attraction for residents and tourists alike.
The skeleton was constructed using logs from the trees he had cut, and he used 800 metal screws to pin it together.
Working for 10-12 hours each day, he even studied pictures of real extinct mammoths to make sure it was anatomically correct.
He then draped the creature with leftover leaves to make it look hairy, and added 600 LED fairy lights as a finishing touch.
The mammoth boasts tusks as well as a long trunk, and the overall result is uncannily realistic.
Mr Carbonaro said: “What happened, is I had to start trimming the very large cypress trees in my garden.
“I’ve always loved them but they were too big.
“The very next morning, the council phoned. The inspectors came around and said “You have to move the branches.”
“ I said, “How long will you give me?” They said “Two weeks”.
“That night, I must have had some dreams, because I woke up and thought “You can use the branches – they are very hairy – to make a mammoth”.
Mr Carbonaro has now made a giant spider using the method, and even posted an instructional video on Youtube showing how the project came together, titled, “How to make a woody (corr) mammoth”.
He said: “The neighbours said: “What are you doing? At first I said is was a hut for my motorbike. I didn’t want to spoil the surprise.
“I’ve lived here for eight years, and I was commuting to work in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
“I never met anybody before. Now, I know everybody. The reaction of all the neighbours is very positive.
He added: “People are coming in cars to take pictures, and people are walking past here now. The reaction is very good.”
Mr Carbonaro’s 38-year old partner, Javier Riera Montserra, is proud of their bizarre front garden.
He said: “I think it will be really interesting in winter. All of the houses in the street are the same – ours is different. It is very, very special.
He added: “Also it gives you a little more privacy. Our garden is very small.”
Mr Carbonaro now dreams of turning Dalgety Bay, a coastal town with just 10,000 residents, into a centre for even more bizarre sculptures.
He said: “My dream is to collaborate with Fife Council to build further woody reincarnations of extinct and prehistoric animals here in Dalgety Bay.”
Fife Council welcomed the appearance of the woolly mammoth in Dalgety Bay.
The council’s service manager, Damien Woods, said: “Following a complaint from one of his neighbours we asked Mr Carbonaro to remove the branches that were causing a hazard and preventing us from cutting and maintaining the grass.
“He moved them within a week or two and we’re pleased that he has used the branches to come up with a creative solution within his own garden.”
