An Incorrigible History of Alberta
Calgary Stampede's Western Art Winners
The West That Was
Focusing on the West
A Slice of Reality
Lithograph in Western Canadian History
Shadow Stories
Five Hundred
Generations
D.C. Lund
Calgary's Art Walk
Stew Cameron
Dale Auger
Judie Popplewell
K. Neil Swanson
Jerry Doell
Paul Van Ginkel
Diana Stupniski
Janice Blackie Goodine
Gena La Coste
Wendy Risdale
Ash Cooper

A Slice of Reality

Hyperrealism in Wood

By Terri Mason

From the branch to the bird of prey, Ed Brown’s stunning kestrel with garter snake is hand-carved from a single piece of basswood Photo by Ed Brown

Former bronc rider, founding member of the Manitoba Rodeo Cowboy’s Association and member of the MRCA Hall of Fame, trapper, commercial fisherman, outstanding musician, singer/songwriter, cowboy poet and internationally famous wildlife carver; any one of those is impressive but roll it all into one and you get the dynamite package of one man – Balmoral, Manitoba’s Ed Brown.

His interest in wildlife art began in early childhood where he spent much of his time sketching and painting birds. His first carvings were working decoys for duck hunting. Sketching and carving were secondary during his ten years as a bronc rider and then another seven with racehorses, but his interest never waned and his skill increased. Gradually his carving evolved into full composition, life-sized sculptures.

Brown’s goldfinch Photo by Ed Brown

In the mid-80s, Ed decided to carve full-time. To create a challenging environment he began entering carving competitions that attracted the best carvers in North America. His mastery of the difficulty of combining extreme accuracy with artistic expression and originality has resulted in an individual style that is easily recognizable by his peers. Today, his birds of prey, songbirds and waterfowl, both life-sized and miniature, have taken many Best of Show awards at shows and competitions across Canada and the U.S., including the prestigious Ward World Competition in Ocean City, Maryland.

“I was invited to show my carvings at a huge woodworking convention one time,” he said, “and people were walking by my display, questioning why a taxidermist was at a woodworking show,” he laughed. “Once I showed them they were carvings, well I got quite a crowd.” His birds are part of major private and museum collections in Canada and the U.S.

Brown’s Saw Whet owl Photo by Ed Brown

A visit to Jordan Straker’s house is an adventure into illusion and imagination. From the woodcarved sneaker mailbox to the wooden finger pointing to his basement dance studio, every corner of his domain provides insight into the inspired mind of this energetic British Columbia woodcarver.

While Jordan admits to always having possessed some type of artistic talent, it wasn’t until 1990 when therapy for a hand injury led him to a piece of wood and a Dremel tool. Fifteen years and hundreds of carving awards later, Straker’s need to create is still a driving force. “Carving satisfies all of my imaginative desires.”

Standing in one spot for up to sixteen hours in his attached workshop, carving and painting thousands of beads onto a pair of woodcarved moccasins can certainly be a serious and intense business.

His remedy was to build a studio in his home and open O’Molly’s Celtic Dance Studio, where Jordan teaches another passion of his – Irish dancing. The production on the dance floor is very physical and fun, but also a serious business as Jordan prepares his thirty-some leprechaun-sized students to present their own talents to their community audiences.

Chunky blocks of basswood were stacked and laminated, serving as the building blocks for Jordan Straker’s Ceremonial Shirt. The only add-on was the quiver. Each individual bead on the moccasins “draped” over the arm was painted three times-with a toothpick. Photo by Jordan Straker

Jordan’s regular participation at the Calgary Exhibition & Stampede’s Western Art Auction has earned him well-deserved respect, winning the Collector’s Choice three-dimensional award five times in recent years. “I love the auction, but it’s really weird to have your piece disappear, often without knowing who bought it.” Still, while he admits that it’s hard to part with his creations, he appreciates some very warm letters from purchasers of his art. “One woman wrote to say that having my work in their home made it feel like I was part of their family. You can’t ask for much more than that!”