theodore j. smith wildfowl carver
Ted grew up learning to paint from his artist father R. H. Smith. In high school he started by pin striping cars and went on to manage a sign shop for Mobile Construction Battalion -11 while he was with the U.S. Navy Seabees. While managing a paint store for Dutch Boy Paints for 16 years, he started carving birds for a hobby. In five years he turned his hobby into a vocation.
Ted has been a member of Ducks Unlimited, the Peregrine Fund, the Ward Foundation, National Woodcarvers Association, International Wildfowl Carvers Assocation, Idaho Woodcarvers Guild, and has helped to band birds of prey with the Idaho Bird Observatorey. He was a co-founder of the Idaho Wildlife Art Show and a adviser for the Idaho Woodcarvers Guild's yearly competition show for nine years. He has been an Artist Adviser for the Ellensburg National Art Show in Ellensburg, Washington since 1999, and he has judged wood carving shows not only in the North-West and Canada but also at the World Wildfowl Carving Championships that are held in Ocean City, Maryland each April.
Ted's bird carvings are displayed in private collections such as the Orentreich Foundation for th Advancement of Science in New York City, the Pautzke Art Collection in Ellensburg, Washington, and the David Walters Art Collection in both Kauai, Hawaii and Reno, Nevada. You can see his work displayed at the C.M Russell Art Auction in Great Falls, Montana each March and at the Ellensburg National Art Show in Ellensburg, Washington each May.
Often asked what his favorite bird to carve is, the answer is always the same, "it is th bird that he is working on". When working on a bird carving, he reads books about the bird and studies his reference photographs, to capture the smallest detail and give life to the bird and often its immediate habitat.
Some of the things that make Ted's carvings stand out above most others is the passion he has for his work, he does his own reference photography and has hundredes of photographs of each specie to work from. He ages his carving wood in his studio, which he built just for bird carving. On all of his major carving projects, he makes up a photo album showing the steps that he takes from the block of wood, up through the painting of the unit, and presents a copy to the collector of the piece. All of his carvings are numbered in the order of which they are completed, and to date he has created over 1079 decorative bird carvings.
His studio is located three miles from the Deer Flat Wildlife Refuge near Nampa, Idaho. He has observed and listed 79 species of birds from this studio and back yard.
In an effort to keep up with the times, he is one of the first carvers in the West to adopt the electronic business card. It has over 100 photographs along with information about his work on it. All you have to do is drop it in your CD tray of your computer and the slide show comes on.
Ted has been a member of Ducks Unlimited, the Peregrine Fund, the Ward Foundation, National Woodcarvers Association, International Wildfowl Carvers Assocation, Idaho Woodcarvers Guild, and has helped to band birds of prey with the Idaho Bird Observatorey. He was a co-founder of the Idaho Wildlife Art Show and a adviser for the Idaho Woodcarvers Guild's yearly competition show for nine years. He has been an Artist Adviser for the Ellensburg National Art Show in Ellensburg, Washington since 1999, and he has judged wood carving shows not only in the North-West and Canada but also at the World Wildfowl Carving Championships that are held in Ocean City, Maryland each April.
Ted's bird carvings are displayed in private collections such as the Orentreich Foundation for th Advancement of Science in New York City, the Pautzke Art Collection in Ellensburg, Washington, and the David Walters Art Collection in both Kauai, Hawaii and Reno, Nevada. You can see his work displayed at the C.M Russell Art Auction in Great Falls, Montana each March and at the Ellensburg National Art Show in Ellensburg, Washington each May.
Often asked what his favorite bird to carve is, the answer is always the same, "it is th bird that he is working on". When working on a bird carving, he reads books about the bird and studies his reference photographs, to capture the smallest detail and give life to the bird and often its immediate habitat.
Some of the things that make Ted's carvings stand out above most others is the passion he has for his work, he does his own reference photography and has hundredes of photographs of each specie to work from. He ages his carving wood in his studio, which he built just for bird carving. On all of his major carving projects, he makes up a photo album showing the steps that he takes from the block of wood, up through the painting of the unit, and presents a copy to the collector of the piece. All of his carvings are numbered in the order of which they are completed, and to date he has created over 1079 decorative bird carvings.
His studio is located three miles from the Deer Flat Wildlife Refuge near Nampa, Idaho. He has observed and listed 79 species of birds from this studio and back yard.
In an effort to keep up with the times, he is one of the first carvers in the West to adopt the electronic business card. It has over 100 photographs along with information about his work on it. All you have to do is drop it in your CD tray of your computer and the slide show comes on.
