Whimsy in the Woods – A Retired Scientist Finds Magic in Wood Carving
- Heather McDorman
- Aug 14
- 6 min read
Updated: Aug 14
On a warm summer day in St. Louis County’s Faust Park, I was walking with a couple of friends, and I stumbled upon something unexpected – a man with a kind smile and a massive tree trunk, quietly preparing for his next sculpture in the Whimsical Woods.
This wasn’t just any artist – it was Mark Pohlman, a 68-year-old retired nuclear engineer turned wood carver/sculptor, about to bring another magical creature to life for children and families to discover along the wooded trail.
From Physics to Fairies
Faust Park’s Whimsical Woods is an enchanting space filled with life-size carvings, fairy houses, and hidden surprises. Designed to delight children and stir imaginations, it offers a sense of storybook wonder.
With bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the mechanical and nuclear engineering departments at the University of Missouri-Columbia, Mark’s professional life once revolved around accident analysis in nuclear power. Then, after both of his parents were diagnosed with lung cancer, he earned his Ph.D. from Mizzou and began a 27-year career in radiation therapy. “I worked with my left brain all my life,” he says. “This is finally letting my right brain out.”
The Wood Carving Spark
At his family cabin in Innsbrook, Missouri, Mark began noticing whimsical carvings in neighbors’ yards – gnomes, bears, mythical creatures. Creating small carvings with a Dremel tool soon gave way to larger cedar sculptures shaped with chainsaws, angle grinders, and die grinders.
“When I started carving, I had a Dremel tool because the burrs were cheap and easy to find,” Mark says. “As my carvings got bigger, I used the tools I had – and made a bigger mess in the woods.”
A Fortuitous Meeting
During a visit to Faust Park with his granddaughter about a year ago, Mark heard the buzz of a chainsaw. He followed the sound and found Richard Kimerle, an 83-year-old volunteer wood carver, at work on a frog sculpture.
Mark's granddaughter, Twila, was alongside him when he ran into fellow wood carver Richard Kimerle at Faust Park one fateful day in 2024. Here she admires her grandfather's carving of an animated moose.
A few months later, Richard invited Mark to meet Andries “Dries” Alberts, the park’s maintenance supervisor and the visionary for the Whimsical Woods. Mark brought a wizard carving as a “tryout” piece, and the park welcomed him with open arms.
Carving in the Open
The Whimsical Woods marked the first time Mark has carved on location – and they feature his largest works yet. Each sculpture takes about two weeks, he says, working only a few hours at a time.
His pieces featured in the Whimsical Woods now include:
Wizard (first piece, donated)
Dragon
18-inch Gnome
6-foot Green Man
7-foot Gnome
5-foot Sitting Bear (with a butterfly on his nose)
Lion
“Mark is wonderful at engaging with the public. And it is fun to work alongside him,” Richard noted.
The 5-foot bear with a butterfly on its nose is one of Mark’s most beloved creations in the Whimsical Woods.
Mark said one of his favorite moments came when an older gentleman “came up to me one day and said ‘I want you to know that I love your bear carving with the butterfly on the nose. I have Parkinson’s disease and walk through here every day, and when I see the bear, it just warms my heart.’ After a comment like that, it motivates me even more!”
“I have been overwhelmed by the positive and encouraging response from folks that come through the Whimsical Woods, both small kids and big kids alike.” – Mark Pohlman, volunteer wood carving artist
Mark's first piece in the Whimsical Woods was a wizard he donated (left). Other pieces he has created for the fairy forest include a gnome (center) and a bright red dragon (right), which is flanked by miniature items donated and left in the Whimsical Woods for children to enjoy.
Family Roots
Mark’s wife, Shawn, says the family is “tickled” by his artistic turn. “His career was so technical – he was ready to bust out into something with his hands,” she says. Six of his smaller pieces decorate their great room, and he often gifts carvings to friends and family.
Some hold special meaning – like the moose heads he’s carved for Shawn, who fell in love with the animal after a trip to Maine.
“I also think the carvings have been a way for Mark to show a different side of himself – one that has typically been hidden due to school and work demands.,” she said. “Now the artistic side is in plain sight: it is surprising and amazing at the same time.”
The Joy of Collaboration
Mark works alongside other volunteer artists, park staff, and community groups. Currently, he’s building a kid-sized log cabin with his fellow volunteers and developing a troll sculpture inspired by Danish artist Thomas Dambo.
“The collective effort of the artists and park staff is what allowed the Whimsical Woods to happen,” Richard said. “It is the product of many people, and I appreciate diversity that has been brought to the woods by each contributor.”
Dries has a big vision for the woods: “We want the biggest Fairy Forest in St. Louis – with a two-mile trail and interactive structures where kids can play and crawl inside.”
The Journey
From nuclear physics to fairy forests, Mark Pohlman proves reinvention is always possible. His cedar creations don’t just live in the park – they live in the joy of visitors who discover them.
So next time you wander through Faust Park’s wooded trail, look closer. You might spot a new creature peeking from behind the trees. And if you’re lucky, “magic-maker” Mark might be there, creating the next one.
Whimsical Woods: Where Imagination Takes Root
Tucked in the heart of Faust Park in Chesterfield, Missouri, the Whimsical Woods is where nature meets imagination. Over the past year, it has blossomed into a magical space filled with fairy houses, carved creatures, and hidden surprises.
The concept was born nearly five years ago when Andries “Dries” Alberts, the park’s maintenance supervisor, envisioned a “Fairy Forest” after a reflective moment at a teams challenge course at Greensfelder Park. “After we all split up into different areas (to be alone and quiet), I sat down next to a giant old tree,” he reflected. “Wind rustled through the leaves, and this natural scene just captivated me. Birds were chirping away, and squirrels were doing their squirrel thing – everything seemed so happy and content. At that time, it came to me that it would be very 'neat' to find alternative uses for the forests, something that might be a bit more captivating, especially for children.”
Dries continued – “It reminded me of a poem about a butterfly: If you try and catch it, it will fly away. If you stop and stare, it might come sit upon you. And that is how the fairy idea came to me. It wasn’t a new thing at all (the concept of a Fairy Forest), but it would be a first for County Parks (with 70 plus parks).” In the fall of 2024, the Whimsical Woods was opened to the public.
Signs along the trail lead visitors to the magic of the fairy forest in the Whimsical Woods at Faust Park.
“If you get children into nature to look for fairies,” he says, “they might start noticing the magic that is everywhere in nature.”
A Collaborative Creation
The Whimsical Woods is built by many hands: volunteer carvers like Mark Pohlman and Richard Kimerle, staff members like Mica who design and paint fairy gardens, and teams who clear new spaces and prepare logs.
Late last fall, miniature homes and figurines adorned the stumps within the Whimsical Woods.
“It’s all about the kids,” Richard says. “Watching them tells you what they want – something they can touch and explore.”
Currently, Richard is working on gnome homes and is preparing for the carving on a climbable caterpillar. Visitors will see Richard’s wood carved frog (by a bench) and a tortoise within the Whimsical Woods.
Growing the Magic
The long-term vision includes a two-mile trail dotted with interactive, kid-sized structures – rustic log cabins, climbable sculptures, and secret nooks. The goal is for children to be so engaged they don’t realize they’ve walked the entire route.
Best of all? It’s completely free. No tickets, no fees – just open access to nature and creativity. The park even provides tools, wood, and supplies for volunteer artists.
“If you build it, they will come.” – Andries Alberts
Whimsical Woods isn’t just a place – it’s a shared dream, growing year by year. Whether you’re 6 or 60, the trail invites you to slow down, look closely, and believe in a little bit of magic.
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