Pocketknife Gallery

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.

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.

Thank you for the beautiful work you do. L & R (6-1-21)

9 1/4" Brooktrout.

Nine pocketknife songbirds on display.

A flock of Chipping Sparrows freshly painted.

Two Pine Siskins - one facing left, one right.

Baltimore Oriole and Eastern Bluebird, wallmounts.

If I had to choose the bird which I think embodies the best features of all the bird species, I think I would have to choose the EASTERN BLUEBIRD. Many people's favorite, this bird is beautiful, helpful, and peaceful - not a bad accolade for anybody, is it? His favorite food is grasshoppers, so you'll usually have little trouble finding him wherever grasshoppers are found. He'll swoop off his lookout perch on his long, strong wings to pounce upon the luckless grasshopper he's spotted.

I carved him, this time, in a characteristic pose: sitting rather uprightly, with wings crossed and slightly lifted over his tail, and with head slightly turned.

I began four of these Pocketknife carvings on April 26 and completed them on May 5, 2011.

Black-throated Blue Warbler, wallmount.

Pocketknife Beaver & Poplar

This 4 1/2" tall carving was modeled in clay before the pattern was made and the animal was carved. Completed in April of 2012.

Winter Wren

A good customer's "Allen Aardsma Bird Wall".

Winter Wrens and Common Yellowthroats fully carved and waiting to be painted.

Winter Wrens and Common Yellowthroats awaiting their legs and bases.

Purple Finches.

Yellow Warblers.

A good display collection.

Cerulean Warblers.

Blackburnian Warbler about to be mounted.

Golden-crowned Kinglet, wallmount.

A somewhat stylized Whip-poor-will.

Brown Creeper, wallmount.

My first Brook Trout carving.

The BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE needs no introduction. He is everyone's friend! With his cheery "Chick-a-dee-dee-dee" call and his trusting ways, he is always a pleasure to have around. It would be a rare bird-feeder that didn't have Chickadees as frequent visitors.

I began seven of these pocketknife carvings on October 7, 2008 while living in Sterling, VA, and I completed them on November 17, 2010, in Jay, NY.

The RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH is the smaller of the two commonly seen species of nuthatch in the northeast. His larger cousin is the White-breasted Nuthatch. Both will visit our winter bird feeders. Both have similar habits of actively creeping up, down and around the trunks and branches of trees in search of insects hiding in the cracks and crevices of the bark. Both birds love sunflower seeds, too!

I began carving six of these Pocketknife birds on November 16, and completed them on December 1, 2010.

Cedar Waxwing.

Song Sparrow singing.

A covey of unpainted Chickadees.

Cedar Waxwings awaiting their legs.

An Eastern Painted turtle.

A Snapping Turtle.

An Eastern Box Turtle.

Goldfinches being painted.

A cluster of Box Turtles. #'s 1954-1957.
Can you pick out the original carving I used as a model for the other four?

A flock of life-sized, pocketknife Belted Kingfishers, completed toward the end of the 2013 summer. Three were on order before I started them. The fourth was spoken for on a visit to my cabin, before the birds were finished, by a dear couple who has been collecting my carvings for quite a few years.

Saw-whet Owl

Blue-headed Vireo

Green Sea Turtle Hatchling

This owl is actually a Powertool Carving.

Red-headed Woodpecker

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.