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- Heathrow Comes To Waterfowl Festival As Masterpiece Carving
Heathrow Comes To Waterfowl Festival As Masterpiece Carving
- By shore update
- Published October 31, 2009
- Event Announcements
The 2009 Waterfowl Festival’s Masterpiece Carving will be a familiar image to many who frequent waterways, shores and marshes from Canada to Mexico. Heathrow is a life-size Great Blue Heron standing patiently on a dock, waiting for his next meal to swim by.
Created by master carver Glenn A. McMurdo of Cobourg, Ontario, the carving has taken up residence in Ted and Karen Rivett’s home on the Bay of Quinte in eastern Ontario, where its living namesake is a frequent visitor to the Rivetts’ dock.
Ted Rivett received a McMurdo gift certificate from his company when he retired as an architectural hardware consultant. He asked McMurdo for a carving of the bird exactly as he sees it at his home.
Rivett sent McMurdo photographs to be sure the details were precise, and even provided the base, a replica of a portion of his dock. He created it out of leftover planks and a cleat from the dock, weathered to match the real Heathrow’s perch.
The life-like details of the sculpted Heathrow demonstrate the techniques that have earned Glenn McMurdo almost 350 international awards. Collectors worldwide display McMurdo carvings in their galleries and homes. He created a Red-Breasted Merganser drake that graces the home of Harrison Ford.
The skills that go into such sought-after pieces were largely self-taught. McMurdo began carving as a hobby in 1986, taking a brief night-school carving class. By 1989, he was carving full time. Long observation of his subjects and study of biology and anatomy texts continue to provide the foundation on which he bases his techniques.
Generous in sharing his skills, McMurdo teaches carving and painting throughout North America, including nine years as one of the guest artists instructing the Waterfowl Festival Masterclasses.
McMurdo has carved everything from song birds to birds of prey, but says waterfowl are his favorite subjects. It was in 1987 that he began winning awards for his waterfowl carvings, the same year that he first visited the Waterfowl Festival. His wife, Katharine, recalls their awe when they entered the Chesapeake Carving Gallery with all of its illustrious carvers.
By 1994, McMurdo was joining those carving notables, having been invited to exhibit at the event, where he continues to offer visitors his award-winning work. His booth has also won numerous Festival awards over the years, and Katharine McMurdo promises a special display this year to go along with the Masterpiece Carving.
McMurdo says that Heathrow will travel from Canada in a specially constructed “nest” for its appearance at the Waterfowl Festival in Easton, November 13-15. The carving will stand as the centerpiece of the Chesapeake Carving Gallery at the Armory. A sneak preview can be enjoyed during the Festival’s Premiere Night “Artful Feast” on Thursday, November 12.
To attend Premiere Night, to make a donation or for more information, contact the Waterfowl Festival at 410-822-4567 or visit its website, www.waterfowlfestival.org.
Created by master carver Glenn A. McMurdo of Cobourg, Ontario, the carving has taken up residence in Ted and Karen Rivett’s home on the Bay of Quinte in eastern Ontario, where its living namesake is a frequent visitor to the Rivetts’ dock.
Ted Rivett received a McMurdo gift certificate from his company when he retired as an architectural hardware consultant. He asked McMurdo for a carving of the bird exactly as he sees it at his home.
Rivett sent McMurdo photographs to be sure the details were precise, and even provided the base, a replica of a portion of his dock. He created it out of leftover planks and a cleat from the dock, weathered to match the real Heathrow’s perch.
The life-like details of the sculpted Heathrow demonstrate the techniques that have earned Glenn McMurdo almost 350 international awards. Collectors worldwide display McMurdo carvings in their galleries and homes. He created a Red-Breasted Merganser drake that graces the home of Harrison Ford.
The skills that go into such sought-after pieces were largely self-taught. McMurdo began carving as a hobby in 1986, taking a brief night-school carving class. By 1989, he was carving full time. Long observation of his subjects and study of biology and anatomy texts continue to provide the foundation on which he bases his techniques.
Generous in sharing his skills, McMurdo teaches carving and painting throughout North America, including nine years as one of the guest artists instructing the Waterfowl Festival Masterclasses.
McMurdo has carved everything from song birds to birds of prey, but says waterfowl are his favorite subjects. It was in 1987 that he began winning awards for his waterfowl carvings, the same year that he first visited the Waterfowl Festival. His wife, Katharine, recalls their awe when they entered the Chesapeake Carving Gallery with all of its illustrious carvers.
By 1994, McMurdo was joining those carving notables, having been invited to exhibit at the event, where he continues to offer visitors his award-winning work. His booth has also won numerous Festival awards over the years, and Katharine McMurdo promises a special display this year to go along with the Masterpiece Carving.
McMurdo says that Heathrow will travel from Canada in a specially constructed “nest” for its appearance at the Waterfowl Festival in Easton, November 13-15. The carving will stand as the centerpiece of the Chesapeake Carving Gallery at the Armory. A sneak preview can be enjoyed during the Festival’s Premiere Night “Artful Feast” on Thursday, November 12.
To attend Premiere Night, to make a donation or for more information, contact the Waterfowl Festival at 410-822-4567 or visit its website, www.waterfowlfestival.org.