The Alberta Wildlife Carving Association is one of the most successful carving associations in North America. This is due, in part, to the commitment of our members to teach and to encourage the development of our art form.
The “carved decoy” is a recognized, long standing, North American art form. Discovered in 1924 in a Nevada cave, the oldest known decoy examples dated back to approximately 1000 AD. It is believed that these decoys were constructed by the Northern Paiute Indians and were probably used for hunting.
The arrival of Europeans to the eastern shores of North America in the fifteenth century resulted in a further advancement of the art form. These early American settlers started the fabrication of the wooden decoys that we are familiar with today. These early decoy artists began selling their creations and competitions began to determine who was the best decoy artist. These early competitions were forerunner of todays carving competitions held throughout Canada and the United States.
This popular art form has grown to include all types of 3-dimensional wildlife carving. Current wildlife carvings showcase a complex variety of artistic impression only limited by the artist imagination. Today’s annual “Ward World Wildfowl Carving Championships” held in Ocean City Maryland, and the Canadian Championships held in Waterloo, Ontario are examples of highly anticipated modern 3-dimentional art competitions.
The Alberta Wildlife Carving Association is one of the most successful carving associations in North America. This is due, in part, to the commitment of our members to teach and to encourage the development of our art form. The result is a strong and vibrant group of individual artists who contribute tirelessly to the association.
The Alberta Wildlife Carving Association is the Northern Alberta home for wildlife carvers. You will be welcome here if you want to learn how to carve these beautiful creatures or grow your ability to create more detailed and complex projects.
Would you like to learn more about wildlife carving or have questions about this art form, please contact one of our members.
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