RENAISSANCE BIRDMAN

t is little wonder Utah master sculptor Greg Woodard was drawn to create railroad-themed pieces, given that he lives a short drive east of Golden Spike National Historical Park in Promontory, where the Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869., while a golden eagle perches atop a rail in . His American Indian-themed works , and also incorporate animals. Of course, an interest in wildlife also comes naturally for the onetime master falconer, who has won multiple awards for his decorative and interpretive carving from the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art in Salisbury, Md. Call him a Renaissance birdman. “As a kid, I was drawing all the time, always wanted a new paint set, but then I started ski racing, and I just thought [art] was too nerdy or something,” Woodard says. Later, however, he noticed that his father, a shop teacher, “was real creative, and he did all these really cool projects, some of which were bird carving.” Young Woodard started whittling away, and at age 25 he dove headfirst into the craft.