Virgil Leih drives his nose mere centimeters away from the face of his art. He runs his dust-covered hands against the glass-like surface while his snow white moustache flirts with its smooth façade. His eyes dart from side to side, admiring how the light plays with the wood’s grain and he asks, “Isn’t it beautiful?”

After five years of turning whole tree trunks into art, Leih remains enamored with the end result. He’ll share his labors of love with the public at his very first showing. “Spring Trunk Show: The Art of the Tree” will open at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum on April 10.

Leih developed his appreciation of wood several years back when he and his wife Pat built a log cabin in Ely using whole logs.

“That got me started,” he said.

Today, in the back corner of a machine shop in Bloomington, Leih works tirelessly to create massive pieces of wood art from even more massive tree trunks. It’s an odd medium that he seems to have cornered the market on.

“Wood is a stepchild at best in the art world,” he said.

Leih is looking to change that.

“There’s something intrinsic about wood,” he said, his eyes always wandering back to his finished pieces.

He hopes those who come to see his show will feel the same.

“I hope they’ll have an appreciation for the beauty of wood,” he said. “See the grain in a different form.”

Long process

The process of turning whole trees into art is a long one. Leih’s average piece can take up to 120 hours to complete. He usually works on three to four pieces at a time.

Leih begins by collecting the raw materials from discarded trees. Tree surgeons and trimmers keep an eye out for good candidates for his work. He then rescues the pieces from the chippers and the incinerators, and has them delivered to his shop.

That’s when his work really gets going.

“You get a first impression when you pick it up,” Leih said. In some trunks he sees spheres, in others elliptical shapes. But he won’t really know what the tree holds until he removes the bark with a giant chisel to get a good look at its guts.

“Only God has seen the inside of this,” he said patting a 2,000-pound chunk of tree waiting to be de-barked. “I get to discover it.

“The piece is already in there,” he added. “I just have to go get it. No matter what, there’s something in there.”

After the bark is removed the trunk is shaved round with chainsaws until it is in a “workable size” that can be put up onto a lathe. Leih uses a 1917 Oliver lathe that was formerly used to make foundry patterns in World War I and II.

Once the piece is on the lathe, Leih continues to shape the wood until it is perfectly rounded.

“Nothing happens here until we get that cigar shape of the tree trunk,” he said.

As the piece gets smaller, so do the tools. Human-size chainsaws give way to saws that could fit in the palm of one’s hand.

“This allows me to shape this into whatever pattern I’m looking for,” Leih said.

Once Leih has his rough shape, the piece moves into a giant microwave he built for drying out the wood. Wet wood, he explained, will crack and “explode.”

In the microwave, the wood dries from the inside out over a period of anywhere from one to three weeks. “This has definitely taught me some patience,” Leih said.

When the wood is dry, Leih removes it from the microwave and begins the final shaping. He uses a variety of sandpaper grades to get the wood perfectly smooth.

“It’s a lot of sanding in order to get that beautifully finished so you’ve got an excellent surface prepared,” he said.

In the final steps, Leih applies up to 10 coats of shellac, sanding the wood between each coat. Leih is so meticulous about creating a perfect finish that he wears magnifying glasses to assure that every bump is smoothed away.

“All of these things are done by hand,” he said. “One step at a time.

“I’m a one-man band.”

Trash becomes art

When Leih completes a piece, it is virtually unrecognizable from its raw form. Where once a 2,000 pound tree trunk lay cradled by the straps of a crane, now sits a beautiful sphere a fraction of the size and weight.

Through his process, Leih might discard up to 95 percent of the tree to get to the piece hidden inside.

“I can’t lift it when it comes in,” he said. “But I can when it’s done.”

His finished pieces are a showcase for the inner beauty of trees. They highlight growth rings, knot formations and the grain that lies deep within the trunk.

Leih’s work sells for $4,000 to $8,000 a piece.

In addition to creating art, Leih hopes his work inspires people to look at trees in a different way, realizing that they have value even after they are cut down.

“You can turn damaged family trees into art,” he said. “There is a place for saving some of these.”

-Mollee Francisco, staff writer

Spring Trunk Show

What: “The Art of the Tree” a tree art exhibit by Virgil Leih.

When: Exhibit from April 10-May 4. Leih discusses his artwork from 1-3 p.m. on April 19, 26 and May 3

Where: Oswald Visitor Center, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum (3675 Landscape Dr.)

Cost: Free with $7 gate admission

More info: www.virgiltreeart.com or www.arboretum.umn.edu