The Yardley Owl

You should see all the smiling people passing by looking at this owl sculpture, during this time that we're living in, and I go for joy. I refuse to lose my joy,”

Cindy Fatsis

The wooden owl sculpture was carved into a tree trunk by sculptor Slava Kuzema.

There’s a new native bird in Yardley, and it’s significantly bigger and harder than the rest.

On North Main Street, a freshly carved larger-than-life sized owl now juts out of the lawn of Cindy and Lampros Fatsis.

The Fatsises have been living in Yardley since 1993 and have lived on this property since 2003. Cindy is a retired interior designer and has since pursued photography, doing headshots and portraits, while Lampros works as a financial analyst. 

The idea of the owl sculpture started when the couple was cutting down large, old trees in their yard that kept getting caught in power lines. One was even leaning toward the roof and carried a risk of falling onto the house. The wind storms in the early spring of this year was causing one of the trees to drop huge limbs. They were also told one was diseased; yet, Cindy also thought that they simply looked unaesthetic–her inner artist coming to the surface.

However, in the midst of chopping the trees, Cindy saw that one of the tree trunks looked like the top of an owl’s head. “I thought that the way they lopped it off with a flat top kind of looked like an owl,” Cindy said.

So on March 22, Cindy and Lampros contacted Slava Kuzema, a sculptor who they knew through their connections. Cindy and Lampros had Kuzema draw a couple of sketches of abstract pieces of artwork, but they ultimately decided on something more literal so people walking by would easily identify it. 

Lampros liked the idea of an owl because it’s a Greek symbol of wisdom, and it also brings to mind the popular nursery rhyme of, “The Wise Old Owl”. 

Beginning on April 24, Kuzema came to the Fatsises house to carve a wooden owl sculpture. For Kuzema, the material is special. “Wood is a very warm material, and I fell in love with it in early childhood,” Kuzema said. “For me, creativity and all my sculptures become the children I love. Creativity encompasses my ideas, thoughts that I embody in wood.”

Kuzema is from Ukraine and graduated from the Grekov University of Fine Art where he specialized in sculpture. In 2018 he immigrated to the U.S. He now lives in Philadelphia and crafts sculptures in the surrounding areas.

After Kuzema carved and sanded the owl sculpture, he gave it two coats of urethane to preserve its sleek look for at least five years. Cindy and Lampros plan to install spotlights below the owl so it’s visible at night.

Main Street has a sidewalk with substantial foot traffic, so Cindy hoped that this sculpture might be eye-catching for those passing by. “It seems like the perfect venue,” Cindy said.

Yet the street also sees a lot of vehicular traffic. Since the installation, people in cars have shown interest as well. Even a couple from Doylestown drove all the way to Yardley just to see the owl.

“It has felt like a constant parade of people driving, stopping, waving, giving thumbs up, honking, pulling up by the lawn, and asking for information about the sculpture,” Cindy said.

Since Main Street is a bit narrow and quite busy, the Fatsises did think about the sculpture possibly being a distraction, yet Yardley Borough staff informed them they did not need an ordinance. Most of the distractions have been positive.

“You should see all the smiling people passing by looking at this owl sculpture, during this time that we're living in, and I go for joy; I refuse to lose my joy,” Cindy said.

Cindy is active in the art scene at Yardley as a member of Artists of Yardley. In addition, she has helped paint the ducks all over town with Experience Yardley. She has also helped run Music Off Main for a couple years. She believes art is very important and builds community and noted that Bucks County is a “huge art magnet” because it’s a beautiful place to live.

“I think that human self-expression can’t be tamped down–you can’t put a blanket over it,” Cindy said. “To me, this owl sculpture shows that the people who are in this house care about making something beautiful for all these commuters. I wanted it to be for them. It’s not necessarily for us; it’s nice to have it, but it’s for the community.”

Lampros agrees about the significance of art and community building. “I see the arts in general as bringing people together, whether it's going to a museum to see the performing arts, a concert, or a sporting event, or to admire a sculpture,” Lampros said. “And this [sculpture] has been a graphic example of bringing people together.”

On June 15, the Fatsises selected a name for the owl from over eighty submissions, and it is now posted to a sign on their lawn and on Instagram @Yardley_borough. To see the newly named owl in all its glory, take a leisurely drive or walk down North Main Street and stop where you see the big bird.