Greg Apland is proud of his feathered friends.
When he sits in the sun room of his home, he’s surrounded by birds. Different breeds sit on their perches, some preparing for flight while others rest. They’re all frozen in time.
Apland’s newest bird has a special place in his heart. It’s a snowy owl sitting on a rock, its head turned quizzically. Apland is gentle when he moves the bird, careful not to drop it on the floor. He’s spent far too much time on the snowy owl to be reckless with it.
Apland is a carver. He creates bird statues out of wood. And he’s received a huge recognition for his years of hard work.
Apland won the Best in Show (Novice) for Wildfowl award at the 2018 Prairie Canada Carving Championship Show & Competition in Winnipeg. The three-day event was held from Apr. 20-22.
“It was kind of humbling,” Apland said.
Apland began carving in 2004 when he met Bob Lavender, an expert carver who’s won competitions and has been featured in magazines for 30 years. The two men hit it off and Lavender encouraged Apland to hone his carving skills.
“My first one [was] a little humingbird,” Apland said, pointing to a tiny wooden creature in his sun room.
Lavender tutored Apland and other like-minded Yorktonites. When Lavender moved to Saskatoon, the pair stayed in touch.
“He’s been really good to me,” Apland said.
Apland, using basswood, created more bird carvings with a group in Yorkton. Every three months or so, he’d travel up to Saskatoon to talk and carve with Lavender. That’s when his work on the snowy owl began.
“He did a big owl and I did a little one and he critiqued me as we did it,” Apland said.
Lavender and Apland worked on their pieces for years, finally completing them early this year. Lavender encouraged Apland to accompany him to the carving competition in Winnipeg.
Apland didn’t expect much, but he brought his snowy owl anyway. It won round after round of judging on its way to a Best in Show victory. Apland was blown away.
“I never knew what I was getting into, so I couldn’t even get worked up about it because I didn’t expect anything,” he said. “It was an eye-opener.”
“I thought it was a nice piece,” Lavender said, complimenting Apland’s craftsmanship.
Apland’s not sure if he’ll enter another competition, although he’s grateful for the award.
“[It was] pretty neat,” he said.
Reflecting on his decade-plus of carving, Apland said his favourite part of the process is unveiling the bird’s eyes.
“After you paint it, you take a knife to scrape off the overspray that’s on the eyes,” he said. “When you’re holding it and doing that, it seems to come alive.
“It’s weird, but is it ever neat.”
