Our Blogs

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Getting Started in Carving

By The Wooden Bird | 11/13/2025

Folks new to carving often ask, “How do I get started?” Well, usually it starts with a block of wood or a cutout, something to carve and shape the block, and some paint. That is a very gross understatement. The list of helpful items for carving gets pretty long pretty fast. I have…

Man holding award-winning duck sculpture, smiling.

All about Rick and His Wooden Birds

By The Wooden Bird | 10/21/2025

When Labrador Quarterly Staffer, Terry Swanson received her hand carved Pintail Drake, she thought readers might enjoy learning a bit more about the artist, Rick Mignano and the process of creating a lifelike Wooden Bird. Rick Mignano is a decorative duck carver living in Barrington, IL., a northwest suburb of Chicago, IL. Decoys…

Two ducks on a wooden table surrounded by framed family photos.

The History of Decoy Carving 

By The Wooden Bird | 10/21/2025

The History of Decoy Carving  Duck decoys are considered a vital form of North American Folk Art, having been revered and collected for over a century. Native Americans knew that birds attract other birds, and for more than 1,000 years they made decoys adorned with feathers, brush, and mud for hunting purposes. Early colonists took…

A smiling couple holding a realistic duck decoy indoors.

Why Wooden Bird Art is the gift for a lifetime?

By Rick Mignano | 09/03/2025

Does it seem that the older we get the harder it is to find the perfect gift for a close friend or loved one? Do you ever feel you are just buying something to cover your bases? Ever think, ‘Well, if they don’t like it, they can return it?’ Clothes, flowers, chocolates, or…