carved wooden sculpture of a hawk, on perch, 10", signed, excellent... studio of Paul Fuchs in the Village of Hofstetten, where there is a population of 600 people. His son, Mario, also a Holzbildhauer, wood cutter/master carver. Paul and Mario come from a family of four generations of wood carvers. Mario explains that each carver has their own carving style in his family. Some carve people, some carve animals, however no one in his family carves ornamental pieces. Next he explained the different types of wood, age of the wood and proper harvesting rules that apply for quality carvings. Mario’s family has traditionally used lime wood or linden wood which means flexible or yielding. The drying age of the wood is typically between two years and six years of age depending upon the thickness of the piece.