7
Early afternoon sunlight squeezed through the bare trees and made the fresh snow sparkle like glitter. The whirr of a chainsaw echoed through the empty forest, the sound growing in intensity as it ate into the raw wood, white from lack of exposure to the elements. Flecks of bark curved the dark of the nose and eyes, but every other cut created the texture of fur. Small clawed hands took shape, hugging the bear’s torso as though the creature had just consumed a large dinner of grubs made from the wood chips flying from the rotating blade.
The motor idled as the sculptor admired his work, assessing where to finesse the next etch. Master wood carvers can see where the edges need to be. Where the application of varnish later in the process would play games with light and shadow to create t
