Stefane Bougie

Stefane Bougie is the second born in a family of three sons, all of whom are bird carvers. Stefane has always lived in Quebec. His talent developed at a very young age thanks to his devoted and very understanding parents who allowed him to have a small zoo in their home, with butterflies, frogs, feathers and bird nests. Ducks then joined the group in the family room situated in the basement. Following his older brother's footsteps, Stefane started to sculpt in 1982 and in 1983 he was initiated to first competition in Montreal. Through the Galerie Prescott, he became acquainted with other artists, mostly painters such as Jean-Luc Grondin, Ghislain Caron and Pierre Leduc. His discovery of Pat Godin in 1986 led him to his growing and great interest for the competition of bird sculpture. In addition to Godin's influence, there were also many others such as Victor Paroyan, Bob Guge and most certainly Jett & Jude Brunet. In 1982 he started to compete internationally with a miniature black duck. He won second prize. Since then has gone on to win major awards in World Championship events and Regional Carving Championships all over the United States and Canada. His work is collected by people all over the world.

Marianna Duford

Marianna, a Colorado native and 2nd generation artist, was brought up with a passion for the outdoors! Her mother, a nationally recognized artist, encouraged her to paint and draw from infancy and has truly been an inspiration for following her artist’s heart. Under her mother’s tutelage, she became an enthusiastic student of art. One of her favorite childhood memories is being taken by the hand by Cap Meininger through the dark hallways of the old store and being given armfuls of painting “things” to take home to play with.
Since 1980, while raising her family, Marianna has been an artisan in her castle at the Colorado Renaissance Festival where she has won numerous awards including Best of Show. Prior endeavors include a stained glass design studio in downtown Denver and Boston, MA. In 1979, she was recognized as an outstanding entrepreneur by Colorado Business Magazine for her art glass and design. She even had a cheese shop and deli in Crested Butte, CO. in the early 70’s while taking art classes at Western State College.
More recently, in 2002, she became an exhibiting member of The Denver Metro Art Club. In Their November 2004 juried exhibit, her watercolor, The Flower Girl, won Best of Show and her painting titled Bunny Brenda was given 3rd place in the watercolor division. She also discovered the ASL in 2002, where she has taken classes from Rick Brogan and Dennis Pendleton.
In February 2003, her acrylic painting titled Hayman Disaster, Clouds of Fire #4 was juried into the Inaugural Englewood Arts National Arts Juried Art Show held at the Museum of Outdoor Arts. In April 2003, Marianna attended a workshop taught by Arlene Krogstadt at the La Romita School of Art in Terni, Italy. She learned the transparent watercolor pouring technique that was used to produce the painting titled Civita di Bagnoregio which was just exhibited in the 2005 Valle di San Martino in the 2005 CWS Botanic Gardens Exhibit. Her days were filled with exploring, sketching and painting in the small, enchanted hill towns of Umbria. She found the pouring process both challenging and exciting as it forced her to loosen up, to throw paint on the paper with abandon and to just “let it happen”!!!
In September 2003, she was invited to join a five week photographic expedition into the Skeleton Coast of Namibia, Africa, where she fell in love with the sights, sounds and wildlife of a living moonscape. Her photographs are being shown at the Ducktrap Bay Trading Company Wildlife Gallery in Camden, Maine. She is still processing the adventure and is finally attempting to capture the journey with paint. Her paintings and African photography were also exhibited in the River Blue Artists Gallery, Silverthorne, CO. November ’03-May ’04.

Gary Eigenberger

Born with a love for nature and the outdoors with an intriguing interest in three-dimensional sculpture, Gary started sculpting trees and animals in clay at an early age. At age seven, he had his first exhibit displayed at his local public library. At age fourteen, he began sculpting and carving birds out of wood, his only tool then being a pocketknife. “Every time I saw birds I took the opportunity to observe them and their surroundings.” Becoming aware of his deep love he had for wildfowl, he began seriously carving in 1987.
His vivid impressions of wildfowl coupled with a natural artistic sense of design and a talent for intricate detail and realism allowed him to create various sculptures that have been exhibited worldwide. He has received many Best of Show awards over the years throughout the U.S. Gary has won second Best in World titles three times and won second Best of Show in the newly created Masters Class at the Ward World Wildfowl Carving Championships. He is featured in many national art and collecting magazines throughout the U.S. Gary’s creations can be found in various private collections, corporate, galleries and exhibits including the prestigious Leigh Yakey Woodson Art Museum Birds in Art exhibits in 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1995 and Christie’s of London, England Wildlife Art in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000 and the Easton Waterfowl Festival in 1999 and 2000.

Dave Farrington

Dave Farrington resides in southern Connecticut with his wife. In the 1960’s and 70’s Dave became an avid fisherman and hunter. Now he no longer hunts but is still an avid fisherman. In the 70’s he became interested in taxidermy, which ultimately led him to carving in 1978. Today he gives carving classes at the Audubon Teaching Center and in his home.
In 1979, Dave entered his first show in Long Island, N.Y. and won his first ribbon, 2nd place with a Bufflehead hen. That same year, he entered the Ward World Competition and received his first blue ribbon with a Golden Eye drake. In the years following, Dave has competed in shows and competitions from California to New England.
This past year, Dave has started to carve smoothie stick shorebirds and fish. 2001 brought his first blue ribbon at the Ward World Competition in the fish category with a beautiful Striped Bass.

Wolfgang Finger

Bird Carver

Wolfgang Finger (his friends call him Wolf) is a man skilled in many things. He is a stone mason, house building, artist, stained glass designer and finally, a wood carver. Although he is an expert in each of these endeavors, in this treatise we are primarily interested in his skill as a woodcarver. To understand the whole man, however, I think it is necessary to briefly look at his other fields of expertise.
At the tender age of 7 he was already showing a leaning toward art as he created small clay figures of nursery rhyme characters which were exhibited in the school hallways. Not yet into the use of paint and brush, he created his characters by the use of various colored clays. As he reached his teens he had acquired skill in painting and cartooning. Some years later his cartooning was improved by a mail order course and residency course at an institute of fine arts in Philadelphia. He has had cartoons published in local papers.
Wolf accepted an invitation of a carving friend to attend a wood carving show. He couldn’t believe what he saw. As he left the show he had several bird carving blanks clutched in his hands and a sense of adventure in his heart.
He chose bird carvings because he always felt close to nature and lived in the country most of his life. He spent a lot of time in the woods watching birds. He was able to observe many of them close up and gradually become familiar with their feathering and coloring.
His miniature birds have been described as exquisite. A recent Banded King Fischer took a first place and a grey Falcon took second place in the prestigious Ward Foundation World Competition Show at Ocean City, Maryland.
Wolf’s nature is not to get into a rut but to accept new challenges. His latest project is two miniature whooping cranes executing their mating dance. Although he has reached a plateau of greatness he looks ahead to becoming much better than he is.

Tom Hennessey

Tom was born and raised in Bangor, Maine. Self-taught in art, he now resides in Hampden, Maine with his wife, Nancy. He is a life-long sportsman who ties his own flies, trains his own dogs, and convinces Nancy that he must constantly gather background material for paintings and writings. In addition to painting, he wrote and illustrated a feature outdoor column for the Bangor Daily News and is the author-illustrator of the book, “Feathers ‘n Fins” which was published jointly by the National Sporting Fraternity and Bangor Publishing Co, also “Handy to Home,” published by Down East Books.
In 1977, he was named the Atlantic Salmon Federation’s first “Artist of the Year,” repeated in 1978, and in 1987 was named the federation’s 40th Anniversary Artist of the Year. He also was one of 30 artists selected from the United States, Canada, and England to be represented in Canada Ducks Unlimited’s “Portfolio of Waterfowl of North America.” He won first competition for Mass. Waterfowl Stamp (1975) The auctioning of his original paintings and prints has raised substantial amounts of money for organizations such as Ducks Unlimited, Trout Unlimited, The Atlantic Salmon Federation, and other conservation organizations.
Hennessey’s works are represented in many of the finest private, public, and corporate collections of sporting art. His illustrations have appeared in major outdoor magazines and books on hunting and fishing.. As an old friend of L.L. Bean, many of his works were covers of early Bean catalogs.

Group Shows:
American Waterfowl Festival, Easton, MD
Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, Charleston, SC
Crossroads of Sport, Inc. New York, NY

Jim Maas

Jim was a skilled surgeon for over 25 years before he discovered the art of carving birds in 1998. It was this practiced capability for fine, concise hand-eye coordination combined with a masterful artistic eye that allowed him to begin his career as an artist.
In 1999, one of Jim’s first carvings of a Kestrel was awarded the 1st place blue ribbon at the Northeast Wildlife Art Show in the novice category. Another of Jim’s Kestrel carvings entitled “Winter Pride”, won 2nd place at the World Championships in 2001, also in the novice category. Entrees in the 2002 World Championships won second, third, and Honorable Mention ribbons. Also, Jim received 3 Blue ribbons,including Best of Show for his Turkey.
Jim makes his home in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, where birds are in short supply. In addition to carving and painting birds, he enjoys cycling, cross-country skiing and spending time with his family.

Ernie Muehlmatt

Ernie Muehlmatt is a 3-time World Champion of the Ward World Championship Wildfowl Carving Competition, winning twice in the Miniature and once in the Decorative Life-size divisions. His fame as a carver has brought many accolades and awards including recognition from prestigious wildlife organizations such as the Easton Waterfowl Festival, where he was inducted into the Carvers Hall of Fame in 1993. He was also nominated Carver of the Year in 1987 at the Charleston South Carolina Waterfowl Festival.
Ernie has had two careers in his life: one in flowers and the other in carving. He has spent his life creating as a graphic and sketch artist, painter, florist (running the family produce and flower business with his brother), inventor and carver. Ernie took up carving full time in 1967.
Ernie was born in Springfield, PA, served a few years in the U.S. Army during WWII stationed in the Aleutian Islands where he observed the birds and painted Varga girls on the walls of the Quonset huts for his fellow soldiers. He made paint brushes from the hair of the unit’s dog. Back in Philadelphia, he completed a two-year program in commercial art then, returning home, used his new knowledge for the family business developing skills in design, color, harmony and arrangements.
Receiving a carving set for Christmas one year, he thought he could try his hand at it and eventually decided to pursue carving full time after twenty years in the family business. Converting the flower shop into a carving studio, he carved six days a week and sold his carvings at the Jersey Shore for a few dollars a piece making $50 in a good week. Who would have known that later on he would sell a single piece for $18,000!
His journey as a nationally recognized world class wildfowl carver began at the end of 1968 when he called the Philadelphia Sunday Bulletin, pretending to be someone else, to tell them they should interview this fellow who had such talent. This article and another in Popular Science Magazine the next year, about his invention of an inflatable greenhouse, was the beginning of much recognition of his skills. Ernie was also a boyhood friend of one of the Ward brothers who later founded the Ward Foundation and encouraged him to attend the first Ward Exhibition in 1968. Since then, Ernie’s achievements are plenty: winning top placements in various competitions divisions, his work displayed at renown Museums, and had work commissioned by prominent collectors in the U.S. and Canada. When he is not carving, he teaches seminars from Florida to Canada, writes books and articles and project books for Wildfowl Carving Magazine. He is best known for his impressive one-piece cluster pieces of multiple birds.

Jim Peacock

Jim was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1928. After high school, Jim helped his father in his printing shop and worked as a carpenter. He was called to active duty in 1951 and spent the next two years in the Navy. Later in life, he went on to get a private pilot’s license. Jim went to work in the silk screening industry and in 1954 started his own business.
By the mid 1960’s he began to get “itchy” and on one fall duck-hunting trip to Maine picked up a book about decoys and how to carve them. He made some black duck decoys and an old friend liked them and urged him to continue to make more. Jim soon expanded into carving birds that are more realistic. In 1973 he sold his business and at age 45, embarked on his second career, carving.
Jim only occasionally keeps his final carvings. “I don’t become attached to them, I always think the next one will be better and more authentic,” he said. Jim carves from stuffed models or from reference books, and carves birds to scale, or if possible, makes life-size models. His goal is to make his carvings as lifelike as possible. Jim carves for himself now and no longer enters competitions.

Kari Phillips

Phillips is a licensed artist with Arts Unique, and she’s also a designer for the Uharrie Chair Company and Three Sister’s Quilts. On exhibit and for sale are a number of her original pieces. Her emphasis is on botanicals and farm animals, finished with textile print-inspired borders derived from her years as a fashion designer on Seventh Avenue in New York City. Of particular uniqueness are the whimsical toile borders found on her animal works. All of Phillips’ works are painted on re-claimed wooden objects. “I feel the wood adds an energy and life the work that would otherwise be missing,” she observes.
Phillips is a graduate of Parsons School of Design and a former fashion designer in New York. In addition to her original and licensed art, she is a recognized furniture and textile designer.

DeCourcy (Larry) Taylor

DeCourcy Taylor grew up in Connecticut and as a teenager in the early thirties where he and his family hunted with Ted Mulliken of Wildfowler Decoys in Old Saybrook. Since then he has lived in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maine and presently lives in Austin, Texas. He received his formal art education at The School of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. He has been a painter and sculptor for 50 years. He also designed, illustrated, and art directed for Boston advertising agencies and textbook and trade book publishers. He originated the design of Gray’s Sporting Journal for which he directed art, designed, and illustrated for 16 years. He directed art, and designed the Atlantic Salmon Journal, the magazine of the Atlantic Salmon Federation for 10 years and is presently their design and art consultant as well as illustrator. Much of DeCourcy’s work has been commissioned by private collectors and has been represented in galleries throughout the US and Canada.

DeCourcy (Larry) Taylor

DeCourcy Taylor grew up in Connecticut and as a teenager in the early thirties where he and his family hunted with Ted Mulliken of Wildfowler Decoys in Old Saybrook. Since then he has lived in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maine and presently lives in Austin, Texas. He received his formal art education at The School of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. He has been a painter and sculptor for 50 years. He also designed, illustrated, and art directed for Boston advertising agencies and textbook and trade book publishers. He originated the design of Gray’s Sporting Journal for which he directed art, designed, and illustrated for 16 years. He directed art, and designed the Atlantic Salmon Journal, the magazine of the Atlantic Salmon Federation for 10 years and is presently their design and art consultant as well as illustrator. Much of DeCourcy’s work has been commissioned by private collectors and has been represented in galleries throughout the US and Canada.

Jim Wade

Jim started carving upon return from the service in 1968.His father carved and gave him a mahogany Ibex to carve. He still has the piece even though he has given it away several times. He generally does not carve any particular subject, but various styles and subjects in the round/relief. His favorite subjects include moose, deer, bear, and loons, eagles and American Indian busts. He has also carved several of the “Jolly Old Gent” that comes around Dec. 25th.
Jim is a member of the National Woodcarvers Association, the Maine Woodcarvers Assoc. which he was past president. He also was the past show chair of the Downeast Woodcarving and Wildlife Art Show.