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SALLY BLANCHARD'S
RARE HARDWOOD INLAY BIRD SCULPTURES
For over twenty years, Sally Blanchard created bird
sculptures using natural hardwoods from around the world. She developed
her unique technique of Rare Hardwood Inlay Bird Sculpture. First, Sally
would study the bird she was planning extensively and make an intricate
pattern of that bird's shape and plumage. The pattern pieces were then
pasted to woods that had appropriate color and grain to simulate the
natural plumage of the bird. Sally used all natural woods with no paint,
dyes or stains. The appropriate shape was then cut with a band saw. Then
each piece was sanded flat with a disc sander to join with the other
woods. Often several pieces were sanded after joining so that other
woods could be added to the joined pieces to create curves in plumage.
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Although most sculptures contained less than 50 pieces, some of the more
intricate sculptures contained well over 100 pieces. The complexity of
joining the woods could be described as a three-dimensional jigsaw
puzzle. The trick was making sure all the pieces ended up in the right
place. Once Sally put all the pieces together, she would use various
tools to give proper shape to the bird. The beak and eyes were added
before the final sanding. After the final sanding, the sculpture was
oiled and waxed to accentuate the beauty of both the sculpture and the
natural woods.
During her wood sculpture career, Sally created over
1,200 pieces from single hummingbirds to elaborate sculptures of a
landing Canada Goose, a woodpecker pair being distracted by a chickadee,
or a Killdeer doing her broken wing display. During this time, Sally
carved over 1,500 different woods and became quite an expert of the
characteristics of both the birds and the woods of the world.
Her work
was in great demand and was sold privately or at several art, wildlife
art, and craft galleries throughout the United States.
One of Sally's
career highlights was a one-woman show of her sculptures at the Fuertes
Library at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology in 1976. Her work was
represented in arts and crafts galleries throughout the country.
Combining her love with birds with
her artistic talents, Sally started doing her bird sculptures when she
lived in Tucson, Arizona in 1968. Unfortunately, after sustaining a serious neck injury
in an automobile accident in 1988, Sally was unable to continue her sculpture
career. She had already been working extensively with parrots as a
sideline and was eventually able to create her own niche educating
people about their behavior and proper care.
(None of the sculptures shown are for sale.
With the exception of the few sculptures she had left when she had to
quit carving, all of
Sally Blanchard's sculptures have been sold and are in private
collections. The only way any of them could be purchased is on the
secondary market. The Wood Duck shown above is owned by Wildlife artist
Charles Harper - Sally's favorite bird artist!)
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Click on any image below for a larger view & description
More about Sally and her flock:
Companion Parrot Quarterly - Sally Blanchard - The Laughing Parrot
The Laughing Parrot Avian Education Center -
THE LAUGHING PARROT GALLERY
Pet Bird Report - Parrot Art - Parrot Painting
- Parrot Drawing -
Parrot Sculpture - Parrot Crafts - Parrot Gifts - Parrot Collectibles -
The Laughing Parrot - Laughing Parrot -Bird Art - Bird Painting -
Bird Drawing - Bird Sculpture -
Bird Craft - Bird Gifts - Bird Collectibles -
The Laughing Parrot - Laughing Parrot - Parrot Behavior - Parrot Screaming -
Parrot Biting - Feather Picking - African Grey Parrot - Amazon Parrot -
Caique - Macaw - Pionus - Ringneck - Cockatoo - Eclectus - Conure -
Senegal Parrot - Lovebird - Cockatiel - Vasa Parrot - Wild Bird -
Chickadee - Cardinal - Owl - Western Tanager - Penguin - Puffin -
Hummingbird - Duck - Raptor - Hawk - Falcon - Eagle - Jose Carioca
- Toucan - Bee eater - Hornbill - Robin -Bird watching - Birding
