What can only be described as a carnivorous tree fascinates observers as it lowers its head and turns to flash its canine teeth at whoever stops by to see it.

The creation is called Biolanttee, a creation by Hector Arce and Ernest Galvez, whose other works are being displayed in the breeze way in front of the art building.

Arce and Galvez joined the sculpting program two years ago and have progressed since then.

“At the time, I had some other students that were really good and they were looking at the case of what those students had done and were asking ‘Do you think I could ever do anything this good?'” sculpting professor Russ McMillin said.

“I said, ‘Of course you just have to work hard at it, it’s really about the skills.’ Now they are much better than the people they were looking at in the case,” McMillin said.

Both artists began sculpting because they originally liked to draw.

“Luckily, I took McMillin’s class and it happened to be doing stuff that I was into,” Arce, 23, said.

“Our first semester we made Halloween masks and sculpted super heroes.”

Arce and Galvez are science fiction enthusiasts, which is conveyed in their sculptures of super heroes, monsters and characters from films and videotaptes.

An example of this is their work together on Biolanttee.

They are also working on a short film based on their admiration of movies like the original “King Kong” which featured miniature animation.

Arce and Galvez pay great attention to detail in their sculpture and that is one of the reasons why they stand out in their sculpting classes, McMillin said.

“We have freckles, warts, or whatever, dimples and they will notice those kinds of things and they will put them in and that really sells it,” McMillin said. “They are just that much more aware, conscious and focused.

The two artists acknowledge that the process is long and tedious.

“You may spend up to one hundred hours or few hundred hours on a piece,” Galvez, 23, said.

Arce has worked on pieces for a commission and has an internet link to his art at www.fritofrito.deviantart.com. Arce creates unique pieces specially tailored to customer’s requests.

Galvez has interacted with New Zealand’s Weta workshop, where he hopes he can work someday.

Weta workshop is a film effects workshop best known for its work on the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and “King Kong” and they have won five academy awards.

“I would like to get into the movie studios to work on some prop designs or creature designs in the studios'”Galvez said.

Arce would like to spread his knowledge to others who want to tap into their creativity.

“I have a couple things I want to do; either probably teaching, similar to what Russ is doing, like maybe teaching a sculpting class at some point,” Arce said.

“I’m thinking about opening up a business, like a toy company, like an action figure company. That’s why I mainly try to keep improving my skills.”