| | | It happened some three billion years ago. The world was a ball of fire and smoke. Then the crust of the globe began to cool. The tectonic plates shifted restlessly and as they ground against each other, buckling at the edges, mountains rose. Miles under the surface of the earth, under tremendous pressure and heat, minerals began to crystallize changing form, becoming stronger. So, too, in the heart of the Karelian mountains, in what is now the municipality of uuka in Karelia, Finland. Here, nature created something rare and wonderful soapstone. | | |