'Just like real Melania': A wooden statue of the First Lady that was carved using a chainsaw draws a crowd in her hometown

• A life-size statue of First Lady Melania Trump that was carved out of a living tree with a chainsaw was unveiled in her hometown of Sevnica in Slovenia on Friday.
• The sculpture's commissioner said he understood why some people would think the sculpture "falls short as a description of her physical appearance" but maintained that it was still "absolutely beautiful."
• "You know what makes her resemble Melania?" a woman who went to see the sculpture asked. "Look at how high she climbed to the top, just like real Melania, who rose to the top of America. A little girl from Sevnica. Hats off to her."
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A life-size statue of First Lady Melania Trump that was carved out of a living linden tree with a chainsaw was unveiled near her hometown of Sevnica, Slovenia on Friday.

The statue was formed from the trunk of a linden tree, Reuters reported. Melania's sculpture appears to be wearing the same light blue-colored outfit as the one worn during President Donald Trump's inauguration in 2017.

The sculpture was carved by Ales "Maxi" Zupevc, using a chainsaw after being commissioned by 39-year-old artist Brad Downey, an American artist based in Berlin, according to Reuters and Agence France-Presse.

Zupevc is a local resident of Sevnica and was born in the same hospital and year as Melania, Reuters reported. Commissioned art pieces like the sculpture does not keep Zupevc employed full-time - the chainsaw-artist normally works as a pipe-layer.

Downey told AFP he understood why some people thought the sculpture "falls short as a description of her physical appearance" but maintained it was still "absolutely beautiful."

A group of people gathered at the site to see the sculpture's debut.

"The sculptor worked a long time on this, I think it took him three days to make it," one man said to Reuters. "He did it all using a chainsaw, and that's what made it hard to make it - and she does not look as beautiful as she normally is."

One woman said the sculpture as an inspirational message of Trump's journey to becoming the First Lady.

"You know what makes her resemble Melania?" a woman asked, according to Reuters. "Look at how high she climbed to the top, just like real Melania, who rose to the top of America. A little girl from Sevnica. Hats off to her."

Trump was born in April 26, 1970. In 1996, she began a modeling career and eventually moved to New York, where she became a US citizen ten years later. In 2005, 34-year-old Melania married 58-year-old real estate mogul Donald Trump.