DAN BURGETTE

Where are you from?
I grew up in Indiana, but I’ve lived in the West since 1981 when I moved to Grand Teton N.P. I moved to the west side of the Tetons when I retired in 2004. Now I’m an erratic member of the Eastern Idaho Bird Carvers’ Guild.

When did you start?
I carved my first decoy in 1981. My boss moved from Redwood N. P. where his wife had bought a decoy carved with a chainsaw. I thought it would be neat to have a decoy, but we were dirt poor. As part of my duties at George Rogers Clark National Historical Park, I dressed up like a frontiersman and whittled while I talked to the tourists about George. I went out in the woods and cut off a thick tulip poplar branch and carved my first decoy with my tomahawk. I didn’t have a very good idea about what a duck looked like, but my one-piece canvasback had me started. My wife bought me some Exacto knives, and the rest is history.

Why did you start?
I thought the decoy was neat folk art.

Favorite specie to carve?
I’ve gone through phases focusing on waterfowl (trumpeter swan won second at Havre deGrace), owls, song birds and raptors. I started doing decorative birds, but got turned on to interpretive pieces. While I was working as a ranger, I’d only do a couple of pieces a year. My usual piece takes 300 – 500 hours, with the longest taking over 1200 hours. Now that I’m retired, I am doing interpretives, decoratives and soapstone sculptures.

Favorite specie to hunt?
I haven’t hunted birds for several years. I did chase ducks and geese with my double 16 g. a few years.

If you compete, what level (Novice, Intermediate, Open, etc.) and Category?
I compete at the Ward World's in the Masters and World classes.

Most memorable win?
Best in World Interpretive Wood Sculpture 2001. I had been moving up through the classes because I felt I was getting better. I won some of those green “Holy Mackerel” (Honorable Mention) ribbons as I progressed. When I won best in world, I was happy to tell folks that the last time I had won at the Worlds was with a second in Novice class for a pair of cans. Winning that award was huge for me, and it really pushes me to improve as an artist. I’m trying to prove that I wasn’t a flash in the pan. I haven’t placed at the world level since, but I won best interpretive in Masters in 2006.

Favorite Show?
The World's.

Most influence on your carving style?
The Arendts. I was really turned on with their bobwhites blowing out of the mesquite root. Ashley Gray, Keith Mueller, Pete Palumbo, Rich Smoker and Gary Yoder have been very helpful in pushing me along.

Who started you - mentor(s)?
Joe and Martha Kline and a flat artist Greg McHuron.

Favorite medium? (Type of wood and paint)
I have twenty-five species of wood in my stash. I prefer tupelo for decoratives, but I’m using aspen I’ve cut on my lot here in Idaho. For interpretives, I like the wild grain on redwood and western red cedar. I paint mainly with acrylics, but I’ve played with oils on some pieces. I use forged stainless and titanium, so I have a metal shop in addition to my wood shop. I have the mini-torch setup like Larry Barth uses, so I play with that also. I use rock to some degree, and have found that soapstone carves as easily as wood.

What are you working on now? Future plans?
I’m painting two mini kingfisher pieces. One will be in Ocean City in the Spring. Then I need to do a box that will be a decorative ptarmigan in a snow drift for the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, WY. I’ve started on my World Interpretive piece. I have a clay model of a piece dealing with global warming that I may or may not get done this Spring. I have an end table that will have carved birds designed for a show next Fall. And I have to get ready to be the Artist in Residence at the Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, WY next July.

Favorite style of carving ( Decorative, antique, gunners, IWCA, shorebird)
Interpretive

If you could add three birds to your collection, what specie and from whom?
I’m trying to start a collection of drake cans made by the usual suspects on the forum. I would like to have a piece by Ashley Gray, and Gary Yoder.

Most difficult part of carving in your mind?
Balancing positive and negative spaces in a pleasing manner.

What, or who, inspires you?
Nature is the big inspiration. The people that inspire me are the folks that push me toward excellence in design and composition. Palumbo pushes me to think like an artist. I’m trying to re-grow the right side of my brain.

Name 5-10 essentials for carving
A flexible brain.
Being perceptive when watching nature.
Pencil, paper, eraser.
Clay.
Being open to critiques.