Tuktoyaktuk (Aug 18/03) - William Raddi gets right down to the details in his stone carvings.

Paw prints, fish eyes and even fur accents add interest to the smooth lines of the polished rock carvings.

The shy 29-year-old has been carving since he was 17. He converted an old cube truck into a carving studio outside his Tuktoyaktuk home.

It's a simple room with a workbench on one side where Raddi's dremmel drill, grinder, files, sandpaper and stone sit ready for his next inspiration. The studio comes complete with a woodstove to keep him warm in the winter.

"There's lots of different things you can come up with," said Raddi of why he likes to carve.

Bears are his speciality and passion.

"(I like bears) because they make a lot of different movements," said Raddi.

He uses a variety of mediums including limestone, BC soapstone and Eastern Arctic soapstone. And he often combines them to achieve different textures and colours.

An average carving takes about eight hours, "depending on how hard or soft the stone is," he said.

The paw prints which he cut into the base of one particular carving are an idea he came up with eight years ago. The polar bear is standing on a rock with a fish in its mouth. Behind the bear footprints emerge from carved water.

"I don't know what made me carve the tracks but I like it," he said.

Raddi makes a living off his carvings.

A medium carving usually fetches $120 while a smaller carving is worth between $60 and $70.

Tourists often buy his work right from the workshop or at the local craft store.