A world champ: Wood carving of childhood memory wins award for resident

By Brian Messenger
Staff writer

May 08, 2008 03:08 pm

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It happened across an ocean and roughly seven decades ago. But a childhood memory was strong enough to prove inspirational for Derek Burdon, an Andover resident who grew up in Yorkshire County, England.

Burdon, 81, guesses he was about 11 years old. Exploring the vast fields of Harworth, a farming village not far from Sherwood Forest in England's midlands, he came across a wren sitting atop a teapot.

Below the wren and inside the teapot was a nest the bird had built, and several of its eggs.

The scene has remained with Burdon to this day and provided the creative spark behind an award-winning wood carving, which he began about a year ago. The carving has won him honors at six New England competitions.

Burdon's miniature rendering of the bird — with an overturned plant pot in place of a teapot — stands roughly two inches long and an inch and a half high, or about half the size of an actual wren, Burdon estimates.

"I got the idea from when I was a boy in England and used to collect birds' eggs," said Burdon, a Martingale Lane resident. "Don't we all draw on our experiences somewhere down the road of life?"

In late April, Burdon entered his wren wood carving into the Ward World Championship competition in Maryland and won first place in the novice division for miniature carvings. In all, several thousand participated in the competition.

Having started his wood carving hobby about three years ago at the Andover Senior Center, Burdon has since learned how to paint the birds he carves under the tutelage of master carver Chester Jablonsky of Newcastle, N.H.

With Jablonsky, Burdon and two New Hampshire residents went down to Maryland and entered into the Ward World Championship. Seven awards were taken home by the group, Burdon said.

"We all did pretty well," said Burdon. "I never, never, never dreamed that I would be that fortunate."

Burdon still carves every Monday at the Andover Senior Center, an activity he said offers "a lot of fun and companionship, camaraderie."

"It's a good group and we all help each other to improve," said Burdon. "We always like to get people in. I find it's a good, relaxing hobby. That's the beauty of wood carving and bird carving — you sit down and enjoy yourself."

Wood carving requires both mechanical and artistic skill, Burdon said. Instruments include a sharp knife, Dremel tool or grinder, wood-burning pen, paints and brushes.

Burden said he typically will carve his projects from bass wood or tupelo.

Another project of Burdon's — a humming bird and vine — also took home an award from the Maryland competition.

"That's done fairly well," said Burdon of the carving. "Not as good as the wren, but I did get a honorable mention for that at the world's championship."

Burdon said his next project will be a carving of two miniature western grebes, which are in the loon family.

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