BOBWHITE QUAIL
ATLANTIC PUFFIN SOLD
CEDAR WAXWINGS
WINTER WRENS - (singing)
Eastern Painted Turtles - 'small and smaller'
My first Songbird Medley: Female Cardinal, Eastern Bluebird, Chickadee, Carolina Wren. SOLD
Carolina Wrens
Carving Out a Life
For Allen Aardsma
by Jim Bourey
Six identical oddly shaped blocks
of wood are lined up on a work bench.
Two books, open to photographs of Winter
Wrens, stand on small easels. A pocket knife,
ready after two hours of precise sharpening,
lies waiting for the carver's hand. He moves
to his corner chair. Adirondack snow reflects
a strong February sun, throwing light all around
the studio. He picks up his knife and begins.
Wood shavings and chips soon shower his old apron.
He pauses often, studies the emerging bird in
gloved hands, glances at the pictures, continues
with a confidence that comes from years
at this art. He knows the wood. He knows the bird.
Later he will take up the brushes, fine or thick,
mix paints and add more life to small treasures
until they are ready to perch, endlessly alive,
on driftwood branches. They will join the joyful
aviary of the studio until they migrate to new homes.
Tomorrow, he thinks, some finches or maybe a kestrel.
For Allen Aardsma
by Jim Bourey
Six identical oddly shaped blocks
of wood are lined up on a work bench.
Two books, open to photographs of Winter
Wrens, stand on small easels. A pocket knife,
ready after two hours of precise sharpening,
lies waiting for the carver's hand. He moves
to his corner chair. Adirondack snow reflects
a strong February sun, throwing light all around
the studio. He picks up his knife and begins.
Wood shavings and chips soon shower his old apron.
He pauses often, studies the emerging bird in
gloved hands, glances at the pictures, continues
with a confidence that comes from years
at this art. He knows the wood. He knows the bird.
Later he will take up the brushes, fine or thick,
mix paints and add more life to small treasures
until they are ready to perch, endlessly alive,
on driftwood branches. They will join the joyful
aviary of the studio until they migrate to new homes.
Tomorrow, he thinks, some finches or maybe a kestrel.
I can't help it; I love Pocketknife Carvings! It deeply satisfies me to create a beautiful and valuable work of art out of a practically worthless piece of wood with nothing but a jackknife and paintbrush.
My pocketknife carvings have a recognizable style all their own - as is true of each artist's work. They capture the essence of the species quite accurately, but in an artistic, somewhat stylized, somewhat rustic way.
Here is a glimpse of a few of the over 2500 pocketknife carvings I've had the pleasure of making.
My pocketknife carvings have a recognizable style all their own - as is true of each artist's work. They capture the essence of the species quite accurately, but in an artistic, somewhat stylized, somewhat rustic way.
Here is a glimpse of a few of the over 2500 pocketknife carvings I've had the pleasure of making.
Pocketknife carving of a 20" Maine Brook Trout
Thank you for the beautiful work you do. L & R (6-1-21)
A cluster of Box Turtles. #'s 1954-1957.
Can you pick out the original carving I used as a model for the other four?
Can you pick out the original carving I used as a model for the other four?
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Two loons held by 10-yr. old Brennan, as if one's a reflection.
This is one of my early carvings. I made quite a few miniature wildlife scenes when I first began carving. Photo curtesy of the carving's owner, E.R.
This is one of the earliest carvings I made in Long Lake when I first decided to carve for a living. It corresponds in my record books with #33 and is dated 12-17-13. It is one of very few birds that were sanded after being carved. Part of a private collection.
This Goldfinch is #347 in my record books. It was carved while living in Long Lake, NY, is dated 10-20-93, and is unusual in that it was textured with the backside of a knife blade before being painted and has twisted wire toes and legs. Part of a private collection.
A Chickadee, carved while living in Long Lake, NY. It is dated 10-12-83 and may have been the first carving I textured with the back side of my jackknife before painting it. Its feet and legs are twisted wire dipped in liquid rubber. Part of a private collection.
Picture of one of my Carolina Wrens, sent to me by a happy customer.
A Goldfinch I carved in 2003 that my 3-yr. old daughter, Megan, 'had a hand in' creating. She 'helped me out' before it was painted by scribbling some pencil lines on its belly. It is now a treasured piece in her collection.