In 1979 , at the age of eighty-eight , Carter was commissioned to carve three large cedars for the Clackamas Town Center shopping mall , located in the southeastern part of the Portland metropolitan area in Oregon . The trees selected for the project came from Mt. St. Helens six months before the volcanic eruption of 1980 that eliminated much of the forest . Carter lived in a small trailer on the shopping center 's construction site while carving the trees . In 1981 , the sculptures were moved into the central court next to a skating rink , where they remained until a major remodel of the center in 2004 . The next year they were transferred to the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Museum
volcanic eruption of 1980
1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens
Dudley C. Carter