PROJECT #2404_
Skill Level: Advanced
Time: 3-6 mos.
Cost: $250
I love to be outside no matter the weather conditions. I am rarely without binoculars and always have an eye to the sky. When I catch a glimpse of something wild and wonderful, I’m often amazed I was in the right place at the right moment. When I was recently asked why I carve birds—“why birds?” Honestly, the answer is endless. At the heart of it is a connection to nature. Birds kick my curiosity into overdrive—bird calls, plumage colors, feather shapes, amusing behavior, mechanics of flight, migration patterns—and it all invites me to learn more. The concept of using a rigid material like wood to create a visually soft, lofty bird carving—recreating and sharing a moment in time—challenges and drives me.
How & Why I Carve
I only carve with tupelo and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. It has five significant properties that make it ideal for carving. It’s strength makes it robust enough to carve ultra-thin and not break. It’s softness makes it easy to work with. It is primarily grainless making bits and burning pens react uniformly. It’s light in weight making unique compositions possible. And, it holds a sharp edge making it possible to achieve extreme, non-fuzz detail unlike basswood.
There are significant similarities between carving and building a cabinet, table, or bookcase. Patterns, rough cuts, dowel joints, assembly, and adding stand out details to name a few. The difference between the two are how the individual maker interprets what they see when observing or studying reference to inform decisions and guide direction. For example, judging readiness to move on to the next stage in the process (Have I rounded the body enough?), evaluating symmetry accuracy (Is my centerline true and straight over all plains and curves?), visually comparing one element to the next (Is the eye channel below the ear tuft?), and observing reference material for direction (Is my feather flow accurate?).
While I’m not able to provide every how- to detail of this pheasant carving in these pages, I carved the head and tail separately so you could choose to carve only a bust or a tail feather if desired. My hope is that you enjoy learning more about the process and are inspired to carve a bird whether that is a pheasant or not. What I cover in this article applies to any bird you wish to carve. Give it a try!
Reference, Study, and Composition
Start by gathering visual references. You can never have enough. Take your own images, research images and videos on the Internet,
