Folk Arts Bird Carvings Celebrated at the Tarble Arts Center

Thursday, 20 July 2006 15:06

Charleston, IL - The addition of bird carvings to the Tarble Arts Center Folk Arts Collection will be celebrated with an exhibition and reception.  An exhibition of the Carved Bird Collection by Joseph Zupsich opens on Sunday, July 30, at the Tarble Arts Center, Eastern Illinois University.  The guests of honor will by the artist, Joseph Zupsich, and the collection donors, Madeline and Dario Covi.  The exhibition of the collection will continue through August 27 in the Tarble’s eGallery.

The collection totals 52 carved and painted birds.  The birds were created between 1997 and 2000 by EIU alumnus Joseph Zupsich.  A linguist, and not trained as an artist, Zupsich took up carving birds for his own enjoyment.  Stated Zupsich in a letter, “I enjoy carving with wood because wood shows lines, color and texture -- lines apparent even in [the] painted birds.”

Depicted are many species, from native songbirds, such as the Oriole and Nightingale, to exotic types including the Toucan and Wry-Neck Flamingo.  Each bird is recognizable by its carved shape and the colorings painted on by Zupsich.  But part of the collection’s charm is that, when viewed as a collection, the carvings were not necessarily done to scale. S o while some carvings are approximately life-size others are not which makes for some interesting juxtapositions.

The carved birds were recently donated to the Tarble’s Folk Arts Collection by Dr. Dario and Madeline Covi of Louisville, Kentucky.  In 1997 Madeline Covi began commissioning Zupsich to carve birds for her.  The Covi’s collection was amassed from 1997 through 2000.

Each bird to be carved is thoroughly researched by Zupsich.  Some are created from personal observation and others from photographs or sketches.  The artist is most careful about the woods used. Zupsich is knowledgeable about different woods and their grains, sometimes “sandwiching” different woods together to get the desired effect.  The woods used include cherry, oak, Osage orange, Honduras mahogany, ash, maple, poplar, and African soft mahogany.