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LIFE
Artist carves his passion for birds
SCOTT DEPOT -- Sitting at his work table located in a small backyard workshop, Paul Adkins of Scott Depot stares intently at a little wooden barn owl he is currently carving. With his wood burning pen and a practiced eye, he deftly burns detailed lines into the wood, giving the owl the unique features that distinguish it from other species. After three decades of carving, his hand guides the pen automatically.
"I used to have to stop and think out every cut. Now I can just sit down and do it," he said.
Paul is a first-class woodcarver whose fine-feathered art can be seen not only on display throughout his home, but also in some well-known places such as Tamarack, where his work has been exhibited and sold since the new building opened, and at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., where his cardinal was placed on the 2002 White House Christmas Tree.
"I just like birds," he said of his hobby, which, over the last 30 years, has become a passion. His passion for carving is evident.
His and his wife, Karen's, home is literally a bird sanctuary of the wooden type -- a birdwatcher's delight. Walking through their spotless, ranch-style house, one immediately sees a barn owl glaring down from a mantle perch, a hooded merganser (duck) resting placidly in front of the brick fireplace, and a hummingbird that pauses to sip nectar from a woodland flower in the nearby sunroom.
And those are just a few of the carvings that adorn the tables and cabinets of the Adkins' house. Many more are displayed on his Web site, where you can find replicas of birds you might see in your own back yard such as a male and female cardinal that are perched together on a piece of driftwood, an American Robin that looks as if it might be waiting for a worm, or a goldfinch standing on a bit of dogwood.
Adkins' hobby began humbly and unassumingly. Adkins said that while he had drawn as a child and later whittled a little, the serious bird carving started one day when he picked up a piece of redwood and got an idea for it.
"I'm going to carve you a hoot owl," he told his wife, Karen. That owl still sits in a display cabinet in the family room. After that first attempt, he caught the carving bug, and has rendered several more owls, plus hundreds of other birds.
"I've never had any lessons -- I'm self taught," he said. "It was something to keep me busy. If I'm not beating on the guitar, I'm working on something," he added.
His carving has taken him places he never expected to go. He will give a demonstration at Tamarack on Sept. 26, 27, and 28, for "Wildlife Weekend."
"I'm scheduled to demonstrate carving. I'll talk about what I carve them out of and how I do it," he said. "Tamarack has really helped everyday artists to have a place to show and sell. It's really been a bonus for me and my sales," he added.
However, his most exciting exhibit was when he created a cardinal for the White House Christmas tree. The call went out for carvers to send something indigenous to their state to go along with Laura Bush's theme, "All Creatures Great and Small" for Christmas 2002. Paul was contacted by the Governor's office to create a cardinal. He shipped it on Oct. 1, and on Dec. 4, 2002, got to see the actual display when he and other wood carvers and their spouses were treated to a White House reception and dinner where they met with Mrs. Bush and had their picture taken with her.
"It was great. I shipped it up there -- they had a big reception and dinner. It was something to remember. There were carvers from everywhere," he said.
In addition, The Home and Garden show taped the decorating of the White House tree and Paul and Karen got to see it on television.
"I saw mine (his cardinal) coming through on a conveyor belt," he said.
He even won the merit award, which was the biggest honor at the Tri-State Arts Association Exhibition 2006 at the Huntington Museum of Art for his full-size Red Tail Hawk.
However, to render these sculptures, Paul doesn't just sit on the back porch whittling like Jed Clampitt.
In his small workshop (he is planning an addition), no space is wasted. He has a work station with plenty of carving tools hanging just a handbreadth from where it is needed. Shelves along the walls keep everything organized and handy. Claiming a place of prominence on the wall is singer George Jones, whose picture hangs directly above the workstation.
"He's my idol," Paul said and chuckled. Also, a bubblehead of bluegrass singer Del McCourey sits nearby, both illustrating Adkins' love of music. However, when it comes to sculpting his birds, he is all business.
Watching him meticulously add detail to a feather, you begin to understand the time and effort that goes into the process of carving and painting from its beginning to its completion.
"I put a lot of hours just doing this part right here," he said as he added detail to a feather. "I spend about 40 hours from start to finish."
First, of course, he decides what type of bird he wants to create. He said he gets many of his ideas by looking through bird magazines such as "Wild Birds," and "Birds in Bloom." The pattern for the bird might be found on the Internet, or he sometimes draws his own.
"I just decide what kind of bird I want to do. I make a folder on each one. I send off for patterns or make the pattern myself," he said.
Using a band saw, he cuts out the basic shape of the bird from wood such as tupelo and bass wood.
"They carve real good. Their grains are real even," he said.
Then using his artist's eye, he takes a power carver that is hanging from the ceiling and gives the bird its distinctive features.
Next, he adds the fine detail with his wood burning pens. Then he must paint the sometimes multi-colored birds. The process can be arduous. A bird might take as many as eight to ten very thin coats of acrylic paint, called a wash. After each coat, he dries the paint with a hair dryer.
Once the bird is finished, he decides on what type of mounting to use. The mounts might be driftwood from ponds and lakes in West Virginia. Once the bird is mounted, he places a plaque on the mount that gives the bird's name, and his own name. He doesn't know how many birds he has made over the past 30 years.
"I've made hundreds ...I've given some of them away," he said. The rest he sells at Tamarack or on his Web site, www.woodtofeathers.com. Although he mostly carves birds, he also has carved fish and created metal sculpture of a miner and one of a cannon.
Although his wife Karen encourages him in his hobby, she does not do any of the work on his creations except to give him ideas sometimes about displaying the bird. The couple, who started dating during their senior year at Nitro High School, has been married for 44 years. She also has encouraged him in his other hobby, which is playing country, bluegrass, and gospel music on his guitar. He has been a musician even longer than he has carved birds.
"They used to call him 'Chet' (he plays Chet Atkins style) in high school," Karen said, laughing. The Adkins' enjoy attending their favorite music concerts, including the symphony.
At age 64, Paul figures he still has some years to carve.
"I'll be doing this as long as I am able," Adkins said.
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