Important Product Care Information
Instructions For Hanging And Care Of Your New Big Sky Carvers Woodcarving
Don Profota
Big Sky Carvers became aware of Don’s work nine years ago when his
birds were winning awards in competitions on both coasts. As a wildlife
artist for sixteen years, Don has not only created many wood originals
for us, but has also designed many of our highly prized paint schemes.
At 45, Don is an intense outdoor enthusiast ani is among the numerous
artists that have made Montana Home Page. Don divides his time between his
many outdoor pursuits, (fly fishing, bird hunting and flying), where he
recently received recognition for flying a sailplane to an altitude of
34,000!
Bill Reel
Born and raised in Whitehall, Montana, Bill has been interested in art
his entire life. Although he started mostly with pencil sketches, and
other mediums of flatwork, he pursued his career in art by joining the
craftsmen at Big Sky Carvers in 1990. It was here that he developed his
admiration for wildlife, especially being intrigued by fish carvings and
the ability to virtually “bring the fish to life” by applying
airbrush technique to enhance breathtaking colors. In 1996, Bill
received high honors in the Masters Fish Carving Competition in Wyoming
for his “Jumping Rainbow Trout”. A year later, his Rainbow Trout
carving titled, “Big Hole Ballet” won first place and Best of Class
at the World Fish Carving Competition.
Bob Guge
Bob,
a world-class carver and much sought after instructor, resides in
Illinois with his wife and eight children. Bob is currently working on a
series of cast reproductions for the Danbury Mint. He has coauthored a
book on carving miniature wildfowl and has captured many prestigious
carving awards during his 20-year career, including four “Best in
World” titles at the Ward Foundation World Championships. His carvings
are included in the permanent collection of the Wildfowl Art Museum in
Salisbury, Maryland, the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wassau,
Wisconsin and in many private and corporate collections across the
continent.
Ken White
Ken White, at age 33 is an up and coming young carver. He started his
tenure with Big Sky Carvers in 1993, where he worked in the paint
department before finding his niche as one of our Master Carvers in
1995. Although Ken has been carving since he was six years old, he did
not start creating his master pieces for Big Sky Carvers until 1994. Big
Sky Carvers held a carving contest, with the winner’s item being
featured as one of our Masters’ Editions. Ken won that contest with
his Kestrel carving and a new chapter in his career began.
John Gewerth
John being an avid waterfowl hunter for over 35 years didn’t see his
first hand-carved decorative duck decoy until the mid-1970’s.
Immediately he began collecting them and when that no longer satisfied
him, he eventually started carving them himself. John has since won a
number of “Best in Show’s” in regional decorative carving
competitions. In 1981, he was awarded “Best of Show” Floating
Decorative Decoy at the World Championship. From that point, he began
competing in the Decorative Floating Pairs category and has finished in
the top three at least four times. John began carving for Big Sky
Carvers in 1983 and has enjoyed crafting decorative carvings ever since.
Ashley Gray
Ashley
Gray, Big Sky Carvers newest Master Carver was born and raised in
Maryland. He started carving at the age of thirteen and was awarded “Best
Art Student in Maryland” during his junior and senior years in high
school. In 1994, Ashley exhibited his carvings in the New York Art Expo.
He won consecutive “Best in Show” at the New England Grand
Championships from 1994 through 1997. In May of 1998, Rotary
International chose Ashley to represent them in the Arts in Australia.
Ashley carves all his original pieces of art from a single block of wood
and it takes three to twenty four months to complete. Each sculpture
tells a stone; some realistic and some surreal, evoking spirituality.
His hope is that people who view his work will appreciate it as much as
he enjoyed creating it. For it is, as Ashley describes, “a window to
his heart.”
Jeff Fleming
Born in Montana, Jeff grew up surrounded by wilderness and wildlife. An avid outdoorsman, Jeff and his family enjoy all the adventure Montana has to offer. “Montana is an outdoor paradise and I love the wilderness and all things wild.” Jeff’s art career began in 1985. “I always enjoyed working with wood and began by sculpting large wood carvings. Whimsical bears have always been my favorite subject and I’ve carved hundreds of bears from little cubs on up to huge bears standing 20’ tall.” Jeff’s original and commissioned woodcarvings have
been shipped around the world and can be found in many private and corporate collections, most National Parks and Disney World.
In 1993, Jeff partnered with Big Sky Carvers to reproduce his whimsical bear designs, starting with Big Sky Bears, a collection of wood carved bears sold throughout the US and Canada. He then went on to create Bearfoots, a collection of whimsical black bears that have been sold and collected worldwide. The loveable Bearfoots’ popularity soon soared, and have been produced in many forms such as cast resin figurines, dishes and cookie jars, plush, benches, coffee tables, flower planters,
clothing, blankets, pillows, Christmas ornaments, chocolates, note cards and many other products.
Jeff and his family live in Northwest Montana near Glacier National Park and work together at Jeff’s Bear Country Studio and Gallery in Kalispell, Montana. “I’ve always thought of bears as being very human-like and playful. Many of my bear designs are based on our outdoor adventures or tell stories that many of us have in common,
special moments and fun times shared with family and friends in the Great Outdoors.”
Phyllis Driscoll
With no formal art training, Phyllis Driscoll's fascination with clay started as a young girl, digging it from a neighborhood creek. Since then, the desire to give life to her ideas and to watch her characters emerge and grow has sustained her through a variety of jobs and the raising of her children. It has turned into a full-time career and a lifetime dream.
"If my work offers you a break from reality and puts a smile on your face, then I've accomplished my goal, because that's what working in this wonderful medium has done for me my whole life!"
Phyllis is encouraged and inspired by her family, human and otherwise, and by the natural beauty of living in Montana.
