Magdalena artist Bill Strickler finds creative niche in birding
pengwen note: Bill Strickler’s artistry is a fine example of the expertise and creativity you'll find among Festival of the Cranes artists.
By Gwen Roath
<center><img src="http://steppinoutnewmexico.com/images/strickler_falcon.jpg" border=1><br><b>"Lifelike Carvings You Will Not Believe!"</b></center><br><img src="http://steppinoutnewmexico.com/images/strickler_kestral.jpg" align=right border=0 hspace=5>Magdalena - Artist creates "Lifelike Carvings You Will Not Believe!"
It may sound like a boast–until you see the work. Bill Strickler’s peregrine falcon dives as if toward its prey. A roadrunner readies to fight a rattlesnake; owls and kestrels sit on branches or stumps, replete with feathers so realistic you want to reach out and touch them.
Bill Strickler’s wildlife carvings are the next best thing to having the real animal. Better maybe. Wildlife inspires Bill – and it shows in his basswood carvings. He’s been sculpting birds using basswood since 1986 but he’s a life-long birder. “My father was a birder and my mother was a painter,” Bill states, “so I guess it came kind of naturally.”
His experience observing birds in the wild is reflected in the realistic poses of his subjects; the diligence he takes in detailing his birds is a reflection of his fascination with birds and stands in contrast to his friendly, easy-going nature. After years of heading a multisite business, Bill decided to open a birding-related business. Wild Wings Unlimited sold bird feeders, bird houses, bird baths and bird seed – up to 2500 pounds of seed a week when he sold the store in 1992. By that time, he had fallen in love with the art of carving.
“There was a gentleman who carved ducks. He had a second hand store and he carved behind the store. He didn’t care about the store…” but you could usually find him in the back, carving, Bill said. Bill first tried his hand at some miniature cowboy boots. Next, he carved a Jay, which he still displays in his downstairs studio. In the intervening years, Bill has challenged himself with ever more delicate and intricately detailed work.
For his more complicated, action sculptures, Bill first sculpts a clay model, “which gives me more perspective,” he says. Plus, he adds, it’s easier to change clay than wood once it’s been carved. The process that follows is comprehensive – from templates to “rough-outs”; the grinders, saws, blades, knives and wood burning techniques he uses; to the final assembly and painting. Each piece is meticulously taken from a basswood block to its final art form. Bill keeps meticulous records as well and can tell you how much time each piece took him to make.
<img src="http://steppinoutnewmexico.com/images/bill_jean_strickler.jpg" align=left border=0 hspace=5>He’s particularly pleased with the peregrine falcon and how it “came out.” Total time: 190 hours.
Bill and his wife, Jean, a quilting artist, have a home with a lovely view just outside Magdalena – just far enough away from the hustle and bustle to enjoy the wildlife from their living room window or spacious back patio.
This is the third year that Bill has been juried into the Wildlife Art Show at the Festival of the Cranes. Stop by the “Big Tent” to speak with him and see his latest creations.
His work also is shown at Peppers Gallery in Magdalena and by appointment from his Running Quail Studio (575.854-3792.)
pengwen note: Bill Strickler’s artistry is a fine example of the expertise and creativity you'll find among Festival of the Cranes artists.
By Gwen Roath
<center><img src="http://steppinoutnewmexico.com/images/strickler_falcon.jpg" border=1><br><b>"Lifelike Carvings You Will Not Believe!"</b></center><br><img src="http://steppinoutnewmexico.com/images/strickler_kestral.jpg" align=right border=0 hspace=5>Magdalena - Artist creates "Lifelike Carvings You Will Not Believe!"
It may sound like a boast–until you see the work. Bill Strickler’s peregrine falcon dives as if toward its prey. A roadrunner readies to fight a rattlesnake; owls and kestrels sit on branches or stumps, replete with feathers so realistic you want to reach out and touch them.
Bill Strickler’s wildlife carvings are the next best thing to having the real animal. Better maybe. Wildlife inspires Bill – and it shows in his basswood carvings. He’s been sculpting birds using basswood since 1986 but he’s a life-long birder. “My father was a birder and my mother was a painter,” Bill states, “so I guess it came kind of naturally.”
His experience observing birds in the wild is reflected in the realistic poses of his subjects; the diligence he takes in detailing his birds is a reflection of his fascination with birds and stands in contrast to his friendly, easy-going nature. After years of heading a multisite business, Bill decided to open a birding-related business. Wild Wings Unlimited sold bird feeders, bird houses, bird baths and bird seed – up to 2500 pounds of seed a week when he sold the store in 1992. By that time, he had fallen in love with the art of carving.
“There was a gentleman who carved ducks. He had a second hand store and he carved behind the store. He didn’t care about the store…” but you could usually find him in the back, carving, Bill said. Bill first tried his hand at some miniature cowboy boots. Next, he carved a Jay, which he still displays in his downstairs studio. In the intervening years, Bill has challenged himself with ever more delicate and intricately detailed work.
For his more complicated, action sculptures, Bill first sculpts a clay model, “which gives me more perspective,” he says. Plus, he adds, it’s easier to change clay than wood once it’s been carved. The process that follows is comprehensive – from templates to “rough-outs”; the grinders, saws, blades, knives and wood burning techniques he uses; to the final assembly and painting. Each piece is meticulously taken from a basswood block to its final art form. Bill keeps meticulous records as well and can tell you how much time each piece took him to make.
<img src="http://steppinoutnewmexico.com/images/bill_jean_strickler.jpg" align=left border=0 hspace=5>He’s particularly pleased with the peregrine falcon and how it “came out.” Total time: 190 hours.
Bill and his wife, Jean, a quilting artist, have a home with a lovely view just outside Magdalena – just far enough away from the hustle and bustle to enjoy the wildlife from their living room window or spacious back patio.
This is the third year that Bill has been juried into the Wildlife Art Show at the Festival of the Cranes. Stop by the “Big Tent” to speak with him and see his latest creations.
His work also is shown at Peppers Gallery in Magdalena and by appointment from his Running Quail Studio (575.854-3792.)