Painting is the most difficult part of completing a bird sculpture for me. Yet, there something deeply satisfying in the effort to find the correct colors. My first carving teachers were Lorne and Maria LaGoy. Maria, who specialized in painting, taught me to mix multiple colors of acrylic paint in a bit of water then apply myriad coats of paint thinned to the thickness of skim milk. It ofen seemed to me that the bird was the wrong color, but just when all seemed lost Maria would mix a different color for the final wash and it always transformed the carving to the color of a real bird. I never understood how she did that and I was totally dependent on her to know what colors to use. A year ago, a six-week drawing and painting course at Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary opened a window on how Maria knew what colors were needed. Jan Ruby-Crystal taught color theory and loaned me books that guided me through experimenting with combining colors. Recently, we chatted informally about painting while I watched her apply paint to her current project and I observed what happened as she applied one color over a totally different color. For the peregrine falcon carving, I gathered reference photos and prepped the surface with gesso as is the norm for any carving. I tried something new too. First, I coated a page in my carving notebook with gesso and experimented with how much ultramarine blue and burnt umber to use on the back, wings, and head and how the color would change as washes of color were added. The experimenting helped me understand a bit what Maria knew. In spite of experimenting until I thought I knew what to do the color on the falcon seemed to be going in the wrong direction, but I kept applying washes to build intensity of color in hopes that the final wash would fix it. When it was time for the final wash, I held my breath then broke into a smile as a color close to my reference photos appeared on the back of the falcon. |
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A few months ago, the Education Committee of Hampshire Bird Club requested donations to support its work in the community. I donated the puffin carving (in my October 2014 posts) to be raffled with 100% of the proceeds going to the committee. Club members purchased over $200 worth of tickets. Heidi, the woman who won the raffle, was ecstatic because she'd recently visited a puffin colony was really wanted one to come live at her home.
Heidi won, the club won. I hope people who donated to the raffle by purchasing tickets have a sense of winning by giving. I won too. The way people thanked me for my donation made me feel like I'd given a million dollars. The first night of the raffle people asked what kinds of birds I carve so I displayed a half-dozen or so at the following two meetings where tickets were sold. Lots of people inspected the carvings and most were smiling the whole time. Several commented with amazement on the amount of detail in each carving or the soft appearance of the birds. I did not expect any of it. I was probably the biggest winner of all! As mentioned in my July 2014 post, carvers strive to tell a story in each carving. I looked for the story in bird carvings displayed at the Bird and Wildlife Carving Exposition sponsored by the Audubon Society of Rhode Island a few days ago.
The stories are short. Often the story is about what a bird is doing – a cardinal lifted feathers as it preens, a shorebird rested its bill on its back while sleeping. Sometimes the story is about how the birds live - a flock of miniature geese fed in shallow water, a pine grosbeak reached for berries from its upside down perch on a branch. A small owl perched atop a rounded base that looked like cement with lichen growing on it told the story was that the owl was about to attempt to capture. I commented on the power of the intensity captured in the posture and gaze of this bird to its carver, Eric Kaiser, who launched into the story behind the carving. The rounded cement-like base was a replica of the top of a column at the site of an early twentieth century leprosy hospital on Penikese Island which is in the same chain of islands that includes Martha’s Vineyard. Graduates from the school for natural history that preceded the leprosy hospital founded the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory. There are stories behind the carvers too. Bird carving is a male-dominated art that is opening to women. This is particularly true in the specialty of carving decoys. June Noll told me that when she began carving decoys there was only one other woman carving decoys. She attended a large carving event at which decoy carvers usually gathered to carve together. Someone, not a decoy carver, encouraged her to attend because any decoy carver was welcome. Several men were already carving when she arrived. Every man put down his carving knife when June walked in the door and they refused to resume carving until she left! If you read yesterday's post, Competition: Part 1, you might be wondering why I entered the competition. I entered because winning ribbons is the most commonly used method of gaining validation as a good carver and because it is a way of getting one's carvings seen beyond the circle of friends and family.
There is a more important reason for beginning to compete, but I didn't figure it out until I was listening to classical music on the radio while driving to the competition. Twice after playing a composition, the announcer mentioned that the composer was in a period of "finding his voice" when he piece was written. It dawned on me that beginning to compete is the beginning of understanding that one has a "carving voice." At least, it was for me. The next step is learning what to say with the voice. How did I do in the competition? Two first place ribbons and two second place. Does understanding that good carvings do not always win mean that winning doesn't necessarily mean carvings are good? Tomorrow is the annual Spirit of Wood carving show sponsored by New England Wood Carvers, Inc. I will enter the birds pictured above in the competition that is the part of the event. Each fits a different category so I have a chance to win four ribbons - catbird in life size song bird, puffin in life size seabirds and loons, loon in miniature seabirds and loons, and great blue heron in miniature shorebirds and waders.
Competing carries the danger of disappointment if carvings don't win a first, second, or third place ribbon. More dangerous is the possibility of judging a carving as poor if it doesn't win a ribbon. But, the truth is that good carvings don't always win. There are multiple reasons. Someone may enter an even better carving that wins over a good carving. Judging is subjective so if a judge doesn't like a particular carving style a high quality carving can end up a loser. For example, carving friend created an extremely unusual base for one of his carvings and got mixed feedback from the two top carvers at the show. One said it was an extremely good base while the other said it was the worst he'd ever seen! Sometimes, judges make mistakes. A mountain bluebird a friend entered in a competition did not win a ribbon. My friend asked the judge for feedback and was told the bird was very well carved, but it just didn't look like an indigo bunting.
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ABOUT AUTHORJanice has been a bird carver since 2002. She carves basswood with knives and tupelo with power tools. Her favorite is which ever wood she has in her hands at the moment. Archives
April 2020
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