A WORK of art has been placed in Chopwell Wood, near Gateshead.
The piece is the latest creation by professional sculptor Dave Gross, from Seaham, who spent nine months carving a fern from oak timbers dredged from the Tyne.
It is one of three works of art commissioned by Friends of Chopwell Wood.
They include a work by Tyneside artist Richard Craink inspired by the Green Man legend and another by Malcolm Lemmon, from Scotland.
Forest ranger Richard Gilchrist said: "The fern looks stunning and has been planted amidst a large patch of real fern and bracken.
"The works mean that Chopwell's mini-sculpture park has expanded to nine wonderful creations dotted amid the trees. They include giant chaffinch eggs and a huge kestrel perched on a pole."
The fern symbolises the unfurling of new life in the wood.
Before he carved the detail, youngsters at July's Chopwell Forest Festival were able to lend a hand with chisels and mallets.
The Friends of Chopwell Wood have spent £15,000 on the wood's sculptures, raised by the sale of Christmas trees.
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