Wood artisans display talent, share knowledge and wit at weekly meetings in Dry Prong

DRY PRONG - There’s a lot of wood carving talent gathered around this table at New Prospect Baptist Church. And just as much witty banter as there are wood chips.

“Each individual here has their own specialty niche where their talents are best displayed,” said Wayne Beard, leader of The Wood Artisan Guild of the Cenla.

Some members like Beard and John Wilks Jr., carve caricatures. Earl Dugger carves walking canes and staffs. Sylvan “T-Boy” LaBorde carves ducks. Jimmy Crooks carves fish, caricatures, ducks and duck calls. Damon Bourque carves ducks. Beard's wife Beth is also a wood carver and makes snacks, such as banana bread, for weekly meetings.

“And him of all people does the ducks,” said Dugger, pointing across the table to champion duck carver LaBorde. “So, when we have questions, he’s the one we go to for information on that.”

"The rougaru,” LaBorde humorously chimes in. The rougaru being the mythical Louisiana Bigfoot-like creature.

“He’s the rougaru? He’s the guru,” says Dugger while laughing.

LaBorde said he mainly carves ducks.

“I was, years ago, I can’t tell you the year, I was fourth in the world out at Ocean City, Maryland,” he said. “That’s where they hold the world carving championships. Especially for ducks.”

On a nearby table are fish, duck calls and duck carvings along with ribbons Crooks won from the Louisiana Wildfowl Carvers & Collectors Guild this year. A carving he did of two fish won first place and a cowboy caricature placed third.

“I started off and on when I was 16. More off than on,” says Crooks about when he took up wood carving. That was around 1970.

The duck decoys LaBorde and Crooks make are works of art that are purely decorative and not meant to be used, said Dugger.

“Jimmy also makes duck calls but they don’t work. These are beautiful pieces of art only for display,” said Dugger.

LaBorde started carving in 1984 with the late world champion duck decoy carver Dan Mallette, Jr., who was the founding member of the Cenla Wood Carvers.

"That’s how I got started. In fact, he taught me how to carve. And he was world champion. But he’s no longer with us. Then we moved on to Billy Phillips,” said LaBorde.

Beard said the group started many years ago under the aspects of the Fish and Wildlife Carvers of the Cenla.

Phillips owned Phillips signs on Rapides Avenue and that’s where the group would gather. Then after he died, they lost their place of carving.

“So, rather than see the group dry up and blow away, we started meeting here,” said Beard of the church where he is a member.

"I used to fish with him all the time,” said Dugger of Phillips.

He had been carving walking sticks and canes for people in his church. The next thing he knew, Phillips got him into carving fish and ducks. He’s been doing that now over 20 years.

When Beard took over, he started a Facebook page, and branded the group as the Wood Artisans Guild of the Cenla.

“The reason behind that is, we’re looking to open up to folks of different specialties. Fish and wild fowl carvings are great. It’s nothing against that,” he said.

They meet from 4-6 p.m. every Tuesday at the fellowship hall of New Prospect Baptist Church in Dry Prong to carve and exchange ideas. But there is also a strong social aspect, said Beard.

“You don’t have the old stores up around where the old men used to gather up and talk during cold days,” said Beard as he continued to work on his “desert duck” caricature.

“And gather up around the pot belly stoves,” added Dugger.

But the guild isn’t just for “old men,” said Beard. The group is open to anyone - male or female, young for old. There are no dues and there is no formal membership to join. And they want to encourage people, particularly young people, to join them. Beard said all they ask is people be respectful.

“We had several young folks who expressed interest but part of the drawback on the younger folks is either they work or they’re so young their parents have to come and be with them,” said Beard.

Everyone shares what little they know or more with each other, said Beard.

Those who are interested don’t even have to have experience wood carving.

“Our neophyte Robert Willie learned here,” said Beard.

Everyone laughs at hearing the word “neophyte.” They start teasing Willie but he takes it in stride. He likes to joke around, too. They like to “dog” each other, said Dugger.

Wayne invited Willie to join them years ago because he wanted to learn how to carve a duck.

“He finally decided to join us. And he’s been doing it for the past year,” said Beard.

“Somebody challenged me to make a feather,” said Willie who was carving a wooden copy from a real bird feather.

Dugger explained that for competition, if a wooden feather is carved, you must have the original feather with you.

“They want to see how close you can get to what you’re carving or what you’re looking at to carve,” he said.

Willie stood at the window and “oohed” and “aahed” in an attention-seeking manner while he held the up the wooden feather up to the light.

“He can see the light through it. He’s admiring his work,” said Dugger.

“It’s lifting me up,” joked Willie.

Dugger has been carving ornate canes and walking sticks decorated with heads of bears, wolves, deer, Native American tribal chiefs and Frenchmen for the past 25 years. He doesn’t like “Plain Jane” walking sticks or canes. He likes them to look busy. But these are utilitarian and aren’t meant to sit on a mantel as a static display, said Dugger. And he doesn’t sell most of them either. He’s given away 84 to people who need them.

He also adds a little something extra to each of them that he does.

“Each one of them I do a signature Buffalo Nickel in the handle,” said Dugger. The Buffalo Nickel is an actual Buffalo Nickel that’s dated.

“So the can’s worth at least a nickel,” joked Beard.

Beard said he finds most of his carvings are situated around Appalachian and Western themes.

“First carving I did in 1970 was a mountain man holding his rifle. It was created from a cedar fence post,” he said, adding he could have picked a softer wood because cedar gets harder with age.

“And not knowing any better, I did a good job on it,” too, he said.

He is carving a Christmas ornament with a mouse in a sock. He has to make two more before Christmas.

“That’s for my granddaughters. Hopefully I’ll finish all three before Christmas,” said Beard.

Beard also made cannalily spoon made out of cherry.

“It lost in competition to something that looked like spork,” he said.

Another piece is something he said he threw together out of a piece of cedar that he got through Hurricane Laura.

“I don’t focus on any one thing. It’s just whatever hits my fancy on a particular night,” said Beard.

“You just try to find all different themes. You never stick with one theme on anything that you do. Because if you stick with one theme, before long you’ll run into a wall. You’ll become bored with it. If you mix it up, find different things to carve, different things do, to get involved in,” said Dugger.

Wilks also carves caricatures. He became interested in wood carving in 1994 after he saw a woodcarver by the name of Jerry Finley.

“He was in The Town Talk. That’s how I found out about him. And looked him up, called him up and asked him if I could take some of his classes,” he said.

Finley told him that there was a group that met every Sunday.

"That’s where I got started. And this is pretty much all we’ve done was all caricatures. I just got into duck carving, probably in 2016,” he said.

He has taken some other classes, some even online.

What has kept them interested in wood carving all these years?

“I guess wanting to progress. Do something different. You love to do it in the first place,” said Dugger. “With me, I’ll sit in my living room in a big Lazy Boy with the TV on just for some noise and my feet propped up, throw a towel across me and just start carving.”

Plus, no two carvings will ever turn out the same.

“You cannot do it. It is impossible,” said Dugger.

“I can carve two wood ducks and neither one of them will look alike,” said LaBorde.

“The wood itself tends to tell you how it’s going to turn out,” said Beard.

Next April 4-6, the guild is bringing in wood carving instructor Roger Stegall from Arkansas to conduct a workshop at First Baptist Church in Pineville. The cost is $195 with a $50 deposit to reserve a seat. The maximum class size is 12. Email jwjr23@att.net.

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Wood artisans carve, share knowledge and wit at meetings in Dry Prong