The view of Lake of the Isles on the night of the storm that eventually led to the Pencil 
View of downtown Minneapolis on the night of the May 2017 storm that eventually led to the creation of the Pencil 
The stump that became the pencil on the night of the storm. 
The canopy of the fallen tree. 
The canopy of the fallen tree and the stump that is to become the Pencil in the background 
Another view of the immense canopy of the fallen 180-year-old bur oak. 
More aftermath of the storm. 
The tree was massive. It caused not insignificant damage to the house next door when it fell. 
Further carnage. 
The stump as it stood from May 2017 to May 1, 2022. 
Another view of the tree as it stood from 2017 to May 2022. 
What is beauty if there is no agent there to witness it? The noble pencil will be there to observe Lake of the Isles seasonal beauty 24/7 365 for the next 10 years. 
To achieve the hexagonal shape, Curtis first carves the tree into a long square prism. Then, he carves the square cross section into a hexakaidecagon (16 sides). From there, he carves that shape into a hexagon. 
Curtis going to work early in the project. 
Curtis did not create this black smudge with a pencil! Our tree was growing around a piece of metal. When wood grows around metal, a chemical reaction occurs that can cause the wood to change color. 
T shirt design – to be slingshotted at pencil enthusiasts on June 4, 2022 
loti pencil
it's the big pencil on lake of the isles in minneapolis
loti pencil 