Decoys: A Celebration of Contemporary Wildfowl Carving

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Although they are still called decoys, waterfowl carvings are no longer
used to lure ducks and geese to their death by shotgun. That job has
been taken over by mass-produced plastic shapes, freeing the
hand-carving of wooden decoys to move from the realm of folk art to fine
art.

Sparks’s collection of 90 color photographic plates presents the work
of 22 of the world’s best carvers. (The selection is from the Ward
World Championship Wildfowl Carving Competition, held annually in
Maryland. The selection includes five artists from Ontario and 17 from
the United States). His photography is impeccable. The same simple
lighting setup is used for each decoy, giving continuity to the photos
and presenting each carving to equal advantage. The most important
characteristic of the photography is that it does not compete with the
decoys. This is clearly a book in which the decoys, not the photos, are
at centre stage.

The text consists of a brief yet informative history of decoy carving
and the rules for competitions, plus a short biographical note on each
carver.

The size, technical perfection, intense color saturation, and sheer
quantity of the color plates make this a rich, opulent album. The
carvings exhibit outstanding craftsmanship, accuracy in the smallest
detail, and artistry in rendering the essence of the waterfowl species.
In artistic terms, the carvings are high realism, capturing lifelike
attitude and interaction.

A beautiful book, Decoys will be treasured by those interested in
crafts, photography, and waterfowl.