Immediate Release
December 23, 2009
Batavia, Ohio. “It’s a lot of fun to watch a piece of wood transform into a woodland creature,” said veteran decoy carver Wayne McClain. On four Saturday’s in January (beginning on Jan 9, 2010), McClain will offer wood Duck Decoy Carving Classes at the Chilo Lock #34 Park. “Even if you have never carved anything in your life, as long as you are a little artistic, you can make a decoy,” said McClain, who is in the second year of leading the classes as a Clermont Park District program.
The classes will run from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. each day; the $25 registration fee includes all materials needed for the class. “If someone has their own tools to carve or paint the decoy, they can bring them along,” said McClain, who carved his first duck decoy 34 years ago.
According to the Web site www.decoyinfo.com, it’s believed that the carved wooden decoys history dates back 2,000 years in North America. The oldest ones found in this country were found in an Arizona cave and are currently housed at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. “Decoys are popular items for hunters and folk art collectors,” said McClain. Some antique decoys have sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars!
To register for the Duck Decoy Carving Classes, contact the Clermont Park District at (513) 876-9013; for more information, visit the Web site www.parks.ClermontCountyOhio.gov.
Pictured above: Wayne McClain holds a decoy similar to ones that could be carved as the upcoming Duck Decoy Carving Classes.
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For additional information about this or other county news, contact Clermont County Communications Director Kathryn Lehr at (513) 732-7597 or by e-mail, klehr@co.clermont.oh.us.