NEW HOPE, Minnesota — Drive by Bass Lake Dental in New Hope, and you'll be greeted by a giant toothbrush.
Since Monday, Minnesota-based artist Curtis Ingvoldstad has been carving the approximately 7-foot-tall toothbrush out of a 150-year-old ash tree.
"I figured everybody would appreciate the brush more than a drill," said Dr. Bryan Ophaug, owner of Bass Lake Dental in New Hope.
Ophaug said they have several ash trees outside the practice that need to be cut down, due to emerald ash borer. While figuring out what to do about the trees, Ophaug and his wife were driving around Lake of the Isles when they spotted the giant pencil outside the historic Bull Higgins House. Ingvoldstad carved the No. 2, 20-foot-tall pencil out of a wind-damaged oak tree.
That gave them the idea of doing something similar outside the dental clinic.
"Anybody could fabricate a pencil. A bunch of people.. anybody could do that part. But making it something that people feel connected with, that's different. And that's what art at its best is," Ingvoldstad said.
Ingvoldstad got to work on the toothbrush starting Monday and plans to put the final touches on it Wednesday.
"It's a delicate balance with this. With ash it's really tough. It's real stringy and it's easy for the teeth to kind of get sucked in and moved a little bit," Ingvoldstad explained.
Ingvoldstad calls what he does modern carving.
"I like being unknown but I like my pieces... I like them to bring something to people's lives," Ingvoldstad said.
The giant toothbrush is taking shape outside 7123 Bass Lake Road.
For Ophaug who works on patients' smiles all day, he said, "Hopefully we'll put a few smiles on faces of people passing by for years to come."
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