Greg Curless

I was always impressed with the decoys a neighbor of mine carved and hunted over. A draw knife in my community was impossible to find in 1967 so I borrowed his and with a Stanley flat rasp and a round rasp, I began carving my own decoys.  I carved them out of a cedar beam I got from an old barn that went down in a storm.  I still have them  today and get a kick when I think back that I only had three tools to use.

Carving is so much more fun today with the wide assortment of power  tools and knives than when I was sixteen.  My carving choices are  decoys, raptors and birds. I compete often at various carving shows, primarily to promote the art form. You never get tired of hearing " that's  wood?".  it validates all your hard work.

I've taken two classes from Pat Godin and one from Victor Paroyan at the Krausman’s Studio, which I highly  recommend. It’s a great opportunity to spend a week with a world master. You not only learn the tips and tricks of the masters but also learn from the other well known carvers in the class. Those experiences also make it easy for me to select my next carving choice. I'll never run out of ideas.

Jim Smith

My interest in art developed at an early age, as my father was an accomplished oil painter. An uncle gave me my first set of carving tools at age 10, which I used during my school years to whittle numerous wooden chains, balls in boxes, etc., and carve several relief pieces.

I resumed carving in 1994, after my wife gave me a copy of “Decoys - The Art of the Wooden Bird” for a Christmas present. I’ve been carving actively ever since. Due to my interest in bird watching and observing nature, I have specialized in carving many styles of wildfowl. I generally carve one piece each year for competition, a limited number of pieces for sale, and lots of feather pins. I also conduct occasional classes for beginning and intermediate carvers.

Prior to my retirement in 2005, I spent three years in the Peace Corps (Malaysia), 11 years teaching high school electronics in Madison, WI., and 26+ years working with various aspects of technical writing and training for an international biomedical manufacturer.