PHOTOS: 'Rock-ET Man' Sculpture Lands In Safety Harbor

Stone carver C.R. "Craig" Gray doesn't need much prodding to travel from his home in wintry Maine to sunny Florida this time of year.

Two years ago he made a trip to Key West to show a piece of his work, and last year he hit Winter Haven for his mid-winter getaway.

This year Gray made Safety Harbor one of the stops on his Sunshine State stone carving tour; he installed his 'Rock-ET Man' sculpture on the grounds of the Safety Harbor Museum and Cultural Center on Monday.

"While I was in Winter Haven last year I saw Safety Harbor has some great public art," the easygoing 44-year-old said. "So I contacted Shannon (Shafer) and asked her if she would be interested in me placing one of my pieces here."

"She got right back to me, and here I am."

Schafer said the piece is on loan to the museum for the next year, at which time the Public Art Committee has the option to purchase the sculpture, which is made from Maine granite stones.

"We're excited to have Craig here," Schafer said. "In addition to the 'Rock-ET Man', he's also donating a piece to us that we can use however we want." 

Gray, who has been carving for 20 years, said the inspiration for the piece comes from his day job as a stone wall-builder for high-end homes back in Maine.

"I have to pry a lot of rocks to build walls. So I thought of building a person prying rocks and calling him 'Rock-ET Man', based on the whole, "give me a lever and I can move the world" saying."

"I usually carve intricate stuff," he added, "like dolphins and whales and rabbits. But sometimes the simpler you make things, the more people like it."

Gray spent all day Monday installing the piece, which is assembled using pulleys, re-bar, a special epoxy and grout. He then conducted a class on stone carving at the museum in the evening.

Gray has his work displayed in cities all over the country, and after he's finished here he's headed back to Winter Haven to install a giant alligator before heading to Key West again for a month.

But for all his travelling, he said he is happy to be able to display his work in a place with such a bustling art scene like Safety Harbor.

"This is a great city for this kind of thing," he said. "It's a great city for art."

See more of Gray's work and learn more about his back story at his website, crgraystonecarver.com.