Below: As Birk's carving of Benjamin Franklin nears completion, it is becoming visually apparent who the statue is depicting.
August Birk began his latest wood sculpture in Cape Girardeau during the final week of June, starting with the remains of an Oak Tree located on the corner of Themis Street and Louisiana Avenue at Franklin Elementary School.
When a school official asked him to create a sculpture in Ben Franklin's likeness, Birk spent months researching what the statesman looked like. He scoured libraries and history books for other artist's images of the man before creating his own piece.
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