Decoy Carving

Bird carving is Maryland’s official pastime. Maryland has been home to many of the country’s finest decoy carvers. Its vast marshes and waterways, and abundant wildlife inspire these artists. Growing from the simple practice of creating decoys to attract the Chesapeake Bay’s heavy concentrations of migrating ducks and geese, wildfowl carving is rooted in Maryland’s natural environment, regional history, cultural heritage and arts. Undoubtedly, bird carving is part of Maryland’s identity and it is imbedded in other Maryland traditions, including: duck and goose calling, duck blind building, shanty boats, hunt stories, the lair’s bench, wooden boat building, marsh navigation, and other locally informed hunting and trapping skills.

Crisfield, Maryland claims as its own two legendary decoy makers Lemuel (1897-1984) and Steven (1895-1976) Ward. The skill and vision of these two brothers elevated utilitarian decoy carving to the fullest realization of folk art expression. Their first carvings, like those of their father, were crafted to help bring home dinner, but as Lem and Steve continued to carve thousands of decoys and decorative birds, their style became increasingly artistic. For more than fifty years, Lem and Steve Ward provided hunters and collectors with decoys carved in their converted barber’s shop located near Jenkins Creek. Their decoys exhibit what became known as the distinctive Crisfield style: broad-bodies to float naturally on open water. Yet, there was more that set the Ward brothers apart. Their creations captured the life-like attitude of their subjects, which, along with the brothers’ unassuming, yet welcoming personalities, laid the foundation for others to follow their vision of art emulating nature.

Ron Rue (1931-2005), of Cambridge , Maryland was one of the many aspiring decoy carvers and sportsmen who found his way to Lem and Steve’s shop. Rue started carving decoys in 1948 to supplement his own duck hunting rig. These first attempts were made from abandoned decoy bodies he found along the marshes in Dorchester County and heads he fashioned himself. In the mid 1950s he carved his first decorative decoy, a merganser. Rue’s first visit to the Wards was with this merganser. Such was the start of a life-long mentorship and enduring friendship. In Rue’s monthly visits, the Wards passed to him their insights and observations about waterfowl and carving, as well as their good humor and stories of fellow Eastern Shoremen.