When snow falls in Wiscasset, a chef at Mike’s Log Cabin sculpts animal figures using the snow in his driveway.

Most recently, Tim Andrews made a large dragon and chained it to his mail box on Beechnut Hill Road.

As warm temperatures and rain vanquish the dragon, the folks who travel Beech Nut Hill Road await more snow – and another snow animal.

He began his snow sculpturing with the children in his neighborhood more than 20 years ago. Originally from Lewiston, he moved to Wiscasset approximately a year ago.

While in Lewiston, Andrews said he created a gigantic gorilla (complete with a bunch of bananas), which guarded the door to his apartment.

Among his other creations are a red lobster, a blue shark and a white polar bear.

Andrews said the quality of the snow is the key to a successful sculpture. “When the snow is light and powdery it doesn’t work,” he said.

Andrews said he likes to work with the snow before any salt is put on it. The only tools he uses to make his creations are a shovel, his hands and food coloring.

Being a professional chef, Andrews has used his sculpturing skills not only in ice, snow, chocolate, butter and wax, but also in wood. Andrews has received accolades at culinary completions in Boston and New York over the years.

Looking through the photo album of his work, there are photos of ice dragons, angels and ocean creatures, along with several wood carvings.

In 2008, he took a chainsaw to carve out shapes in an 18-foot stump of an oak tree at 24 Park Street in Bath. When the tree was cut down, some limbs were left on the stump. Andrews carved those limbs into a family of eagles circling the nest.

Andrews said he will be working on a sculpture for Mike’s Log Cabin as well as another for his own driveway – after the next substantial snow fall.

“While I am shoveling my driveway and piling my snow to one side or the other, I'm thinking what I'll have that pile of snow become.”

Charlotte Boynton can be reached at 207-844-4632 or cboynton@wiscassetnewspaper.com.