Tucked away amongst the lush green suburbs of Bow, a menagerie of creatures surrounds a picturesque one-story house. A giant spider resides on the roof, while a full-sized horse, elephant, nesting ostrich, kangaroo with a joey in its pouch, alligator, bulldog, and more share the vast, grassy yard. Joe Treat, a 72-year-old semi-retired insurance agent, is the mastermind who brought these critters to life.
Treat sold insurance for over 20 years. When it came time to consider retirement, he was worried about being bored, and he began reading self-help books on how to find your passion. Treat discovered that he wanted to work with wood and have a tangible finished product. So he attempted woodworking.
Photograph by Chloe Nelson
“I tried making tables and chairs, and it was horrible,” he says. “I couldn’t get the measurements or the finish [right].”
Later, on a trip to Thailand with his wife, inspiration struck.
“We went to a village called Baan Tawai that had artists making these incredible animals out of little pieces of wood that I thought were driftwood, but it turns out it was root wood from teak,” says Treat.
Back in Bow, he started creating animals from locally-sourced driftwood.
“After seeing all these animals, [I realized] I needed a little triceratops…I put it in this empty field, and people started knocking on my door and wanting to buy it…When somebody called me an artist, it just kind of woke up the artist in me,” says Treat.
Photograph by Chloe Nelson
Luckily, he’s always been someone who can find magic within nature. As a boy, he used to find shapes in the clouds. Now, he uses this same skill to find various animal parts within local driftwood.
“[Driftwood] is free, it’s everywhere…When I go to the beach, I can see arms and legs where other people don’t,” says Treat.
Some of his favorite public beaches for finding driftwood are in Oak Harbor:
“That wood is totally different from the wood we find around here, because of the fine gravel and rocks. It kind of tumbles and sands it.”
Photograph by Chloe Nelson
Wood found at the high end of the tide is easiest to work with and is generally more bleached than other pieces of driftwood. Treat searches for pieces that have been tossed around for a long time, as this helps create a more natural look.
“The longer it’s outside, the better it looks…it’s amazing what the ocean does to a piece of wood.”
Since the day he finished the triceratops, 10 years ago, Treat has made more than 200 driftwood sculptures. He’s created multiple mermaids, a unicorn, a dancer, a zombie, a sea monster, and a Bigfoot, and he continues to build sculptures today.
Photograph by Chloe Nelson
You can see Treat’s sculptures in person at the San Juan Islands Sculpture Park in Friday Harbor and the Price Sculpture Forest in Coupeville, among other places.
Treat and his wife are incredibly welcoming people, so if you find yourself driving around Bow and spot a dinosaur head peeking over the foliage, don’t be shy—go say hi! You might even get the opportunity to tour the yard and workshop. Bow
