I was mesmerized by the lifelike birds created by a friend who started carving around1980, but could not imagine having the patience to spend hours on a small carving. Twenty years and two random acts of kindness later, I became a carver myself.
First, I wandered into the Wendell Gilley Museum in Southwest Harbor on Mount Desert Island in Maine where I watched Carver-in-Residence, Steven Valleau work on a carving for what was much longer than the typical museum visitor. He handed me a knife and a black-capped chickadee blank then gave me an impromptu lesson that lasted more than an hour. Steve could see that I was hooked so he sent me home with a pattern and two extra blanks so I could try on my own.
I needed a knife so I went to MDI Woodcarvers Supply which was located on Mount Desert Island at that time only to find that they are a mail order business. The owner saw how disappointed I was not to be able to quickly follow up on my lesson so he ushered me into his stock room anyway and sold me a knife, safety gloves, paint, and a book called Songbird Carving by Roslyn Daisey which included instructions for carving and painting a black-capped chickadee and a few other species.
Daisey’s book helped, but I was too inexperienced to fully understand the instructions. My first trio of chickadees was terrible. The third was as bad as the first. A friend named them “wounded birds.” Clearly, I needed help. The closest teachers I could find lived ninety minutes from my home, but I didn’t care that it was so far because carving was so enjoyable. My first carving, completed in 2003, was a miniature common loon. For several years I made the long drive every week to the studio of Lorne and Maria LaGoy who taught me how to carve.
Every carver has his or her own story of beginning to carve. If you are a carver, please consider leaving your story as a comment.
First, I wandered into the Wendell Gilley Museum in Southwest Harbor on Mount Desert Island in Maine where I watched Carver-in-Residence, Steven Valleau work on a carving for what was much longer than the typical museum visitor. He handed me a knife and a black-capped chickadee blank then gave me an impromptu lesson that lasted more than an hour. Steve could see that I was hooked so he sent me home with a pattern and two extra blanks so I could try on my own.
I needed a knife so I went to MDI Woodcarvers Supply which was located on Mount Desert Island at that time only to find that they are a mail order business. The owner saw how disappointed I was not to be able to quickly follow up on my lesson so he ushered me into his stock room anyway and sold me a knife, safety gloves, paint, and a book called Songbird Carving by Roslyn Daisey which included instructions for carving and painting a black-capped chickadee and a few other species.
Daisey’s book helped, but I was too inexperienced to fully understand the instructions. My first trio of chickadees was terrible. The third was as bad as the first. A friend named them “wounded birds.” Clearly, I needed help. The closest teachers I could find lived ninety minutes from my home, but I didn’t care that it was so far because carving was so enjoyable. My first carving, completed in 2003, was a miniature common loon. For several years I made the long drive every week to the studio of Lorne and Maria LaGoy who taught me how to carve.
Every carver has his or her own story of beginning to carve. If you are a carver, please consider leaving your story as a comment.