Stackpole Books Presents How to Carve Wildfowl by Roger Schroeder Featuring Eldridge Arnold, Larry Barth, Lynn Forehand, Larry Hayden, Ernest Muehlmatt, Anthony Rudisill, John Scheeler, James Sprankle, and Gary Yoder * 800 black and white photographs *16 full pages of color "If you have ever dreamed of carving a decoy or winning a blue ribbon in wildfowl competition, open the pages of HOW TO CARVE WILDFOWL. Sit down with 9 of todays most respected, most talented, and most honored carvers of decoys and gamebirds. Roger Schroeder. himself a master of fine woodworking, has selected the top blue-ribbon winners to feature in this definitive book on the art and craft of wild bird sculpting. With Schroeder as your guide, travel to the workshop of each master. Learn firsthand from them the secrets that have earned them the coveted ribbons of the world's most prestigious competitions. Schroeder takes you first to visit Lynn Forehand in Chesapeake, Virginia, as the artist begins to carve a miniature pheasant. Through masterful step-by-step photographs, you peer over Forehand's shoulder and see him progress from the drawing board to the block of basswood. Forehand shares his techniques for roughing out the piece, shaping with the Foredom tool, rotating the head, burning-in lines, and laying out and detailing feathers. You'll follow along until the pheasant is ready for painting. Next you'll pull up a chair in the workshop of Ernest Muehlmatt in Springfield, Pennsylvania. He's working on two pieces: a woodcock and a spruce grouse. Discover how Muehlmatt so deftly uses the burning pen to achieve colors in wood, a technique he's perfected that is especially suited to earth tones of the woodcock and grouse. Learn how Muehlmatt gives his birds a fluid look with muscles and bumps, how he creates a weIl-designed arrangement, and how he blends the elements together. Before you leave, Muehlmatt reveals what he's learned about the importance of color, mixes, and washes. Next stop is Eldridge Arnold's studio in Greenwich, Connecticut. As he sculpts and paints a woodcock, he shows you how to make and insert separate wings, feathers, and tails. Discover why he pays special attention to the sculpture's base and how he achieves more by actually painting less. Then on to May's Landing, New Jersey, where you'll visit John Scheeler. Watch him start with only a band-sawed side profile and a center line and move into composing, shaping, and sculpting. As he inserts wings, he reveals his special technique for getting a contoured look and talks about the ways he sculpts the birds of prey he's partial to. Then drop in on Anthony Rudisill in West Atlantic City, New Jersey. You eavesdrop as Rudisill creates a kingfisher. You learn how he works with a mount, uses a pattern, seams the head, and makes clever use of a roofing nail. Pay special attention to how Rudisill secures a support system and why he's so particular about the base. In Larry Barth's studio in Stahlstown, Pennsylvania, you encounter the fresh creativity he brings to the loons he's working on. He shares with you his insights on the composition and on the relationship of a bird to the structural elements in nature. Learning how he works from a clay model and how he looks at birds in flight are special highlights of your visit. Gary Yoder of Grantsville, Maryland. Is sketching a pair of miniature pheasants when you arrive. First he tells you how he meets the challenges of implied motion through shaping and assembly. Then he demonstrates texturing in the making of feathers. Remember to observe how he uses a grinding stone to enhance his birds. On to Annapolis, Maryland, to see James Sprankle in his aviary. As he carves and paints a shoveler, he reveals some personally developed techniques for smoothing carved wood, flaring a head into the body, making Corrections in pose, blending paints, and texturing. Your trip isn't complete until you've traveled to see Larry Hayden in Farmington Hills, Michigan. He's working on a canvasback, and he shares the secrets he's developed for carving decoys. He brings out the subtleties involved in carving a head, and he discloses what he's learned about the importance of the eye position and how he works to attain a soft yet animated carving by using a grinding stone. The visit ends with a detailed session on how to prepare a decoy for painting, with a special concentration on color and the intricacies of painting. You've done it. You've visited 9 of the top wildfowl carvers in North America. You've marveled at their excellence and learned from the skill they've demonstrated. Now you're eager to put blade and brush to wood, try the techniques you've been studying, and create a masterpiece of your own." 9 North American Masters Reveal the Carving and Painting Techniques That Win Them International Blue Ribbons ABOUT THE AUTHOR Roger Schroeder is an accomplished woodworker, carver, photographer, and writer. He has co-authored Woodcarving Illustrated and Timber Frame Construction. His many woodworking articles, dealing with such subjects as carousel horses, wooden locks, post-and-beam houses, and furniture design, have appeared In Fine Woodworking, Woodworker's Journal, and Fine Home building. When he is not writing or building furniture, you may find him playing tennis or surf fishing. A teacher of high school English, Roger Schroeder lives in Amityville, New York. For a complete list of Stackpole Books, write: Stackpole Books 5067 Ritter Road Mechanicsburg, PA 17055   Or call: 1 800 233-9015