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Jim
Sprankle began carving 36 years ago and has become one of
the best-known wildfowl wood sculptors in the world. His carvings have earned him considerable
recognition throughout
Europe
and
North
America
.
After growing up in Lafayette,
Indiana,
and before he became a waterfowl artist, Jim Sprankle was
a professional pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers and the
Cincinnati Reds organizations, as well as a public
relations banking executive and a self-employed
businessman. Early
age adventures in wildfowl hunting, combined with a family
wood-working and taxidermy background, helped produce
Sprankle's incredible knack for his life-like wood
carvings. While
he lived in New
York State
and
Maryland,
he maintained large aviaries that contained every specie
of marsh duck and many divers.
The ability to consistently observe these birds up
close also contributed to the skills that gave Jim a
competitive edge in his carving.
His sculptures have been displayed at the Waterfowl
Festival, Easton, Maryland, the Kodak Gallery in New York,
the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History, the Leigh Yawkey
Woodson Art Museum, and the Smithsonian Museum, to name a
few.
He
has participated in many international exhibits, and his
works are also exhibited by numerous private collectors,
the Ward Foundation of North American Wildfowl Art Museum,
Salisbury,
Maryland,
and the
Roger
Tory
Peterson
Museum
in
Jamestown,
New
York.
In
November 1992 Jim was among the eight original inductees
admitted into the Waterfowl Festival's National Hall of
Fame. This
honor specifically recognizes individuals who have made
outstanding and significant contributions to the success
of the Waterfowl Festival, as well as to many other
waterfowl art/conservation efforts on national and
international levels.
Sprankle has been a three-time Carver of the Year
for the Festival, and in 1998 he was invited by the
Department of the Interior to be one of the five judges of
the Federal Duck Stamp Competition held in Washington, D.
C. He has also
judged the World Championship Duck Call Contest in Stuttgart,
Arkansas,
and The Ward Foundation World Championship Carving
Competition in
Ocean
City,
Maryland.
In 1984, Jim was featured in the hugely successful book, How
to Carve Waterfowl.
In 1985 Waterfowl Carving with J. D. Sprankle,
a 256-page book exclusively about Jim, his techniques and
philosophies was published, followed by Painting
Waterfowl with J. D. Sprankle in 1987.
In 1998 Carving & Painting the Green-winged
Teal Drake with Jim Sprankle, authored by
Curtis J. Badger, was published.
Jim
self-published Waterfowl Patterns & Painting by
Jim Sprankle, a technical guide to the basics of his
carving skills. He
also produced five 2-hour carving and painting videotapes
and a one-hour reference tape that was filmed in his
private aviary in
Maryland.
For 20 years Jim was also a top-notch teacher of this art
form.
In
1994 after 10 years of living on the
Eastern Shore
of the
Chesapeake
Bay,
Jim, his wife Patty and their son James moved to
Sanibel
Island,
Florida.
With constant exposure to wading and shore birds,
the theme of his art became increasingly oriented towards
those birds found in local refuges. This new genre of work
is shown at the
Visitors
Center
located at the J. N. "Ding" Darling National
Wildlife Refuge on
Sanibel
Island,
Florida.
His life-sized sculpture of the American Bald Eagle
is the focal point of the new Florida Gulf Coast
University Student Union building.
In
May 2001 Jim was inducted into the Lafayette Jefferson
High School Alumni Hall of Fame in Lafayette,
Indiana.
A 1952 graduate, he was invited to join because of
his inspiring careers in both baseball and wildfowl art.
He has served three terms as President of the J. N.
“Ding” Darling Wildlife Society,
Sanibel
Island,
Florida,
and remains on the Society Board as a member. In
March 2004 Jim was given the first ever “Angel of the
Arts” Artist of the Year Award for his outstanding
contribution to the arts in Lee County Florida.
In the same week, Jim went to
Washington,
D.C.
to present his life-sized Eagle sculpture entitled,
“Freedom Fighter”, to President George W. Bush in the
Oval Office of the White House. This has been the
culmination of his carving career.
April 2004
~
To
find out more about Jim's Angel of the Arts Award, please go to http://www.aesthetx.com
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