Great Horned Owl. Red Tail Hawk

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Ashlynn Pitts
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First, when you are out and about and find a vendor that might fit into the downstairs area, let them know about our show, and give the vendor's information to Mike and Susan Nesbit.

1 Winter Newsletter President's Message: Greetings from Fallon, Nevada. I have heard from several members about the shortcomings of the PFDA Wildfowl Festival. Not enough (you can fill in the blank). So I have a couple of challenges to the membership of PFDA. First, when you are out and about and find a vendor that might fit into the downstairs area, let them know about our show, and give the vendor's information to Mike and Susan Nesbit. This is one sure way to get new vendors to the show and get more people looking at the downstairs section. A multitude of different vendors makes the downstairs interesting, and it won't be the same old stuff. As we all know, entries have gone down over the years. My first thought is what can you do about it? Jim Burcio came up with an idea that just might get the entries up this year. It is the "I'm a 10 for PFDA" button. How does it work? Any carver that submits 10 or more entries gets a button that says "I'm a 10 for PFDA". The 10 entries can include a donated carving to the Friday or Saturday night auction, any and all entries. If there is a competition, and you enter, that's one entry. Sounds like a lot of entries, but it's less than one a month. I have made my commitment to have at least 10 entries for the show this year, so my challenge to all members is "Shoot for 10". I have four done, with six to go! In case you didn't know Chet Wilcox has been working with a bird rescue group in Sacramento, and has made arrangements for them to be at our show. Thanks Chet, this will be a great opportunity to get close up pictures of birds that are not easy to photograph in the wild, and the general public is always fascinated by the live birds and this gives us another interesting facet to our show. I am including a few pictures of birds that were on display at the Snow Goose Festival in Chico last year to give you an idea of the great close up pictures you can get of these birds. So plan on bringing your camera to the show. Great Horned Owl Red Tail Hawk

Bob Joseph Screech Owl Immature Peregrine Falcon Door Prize Tickets are available The 2014 door prize tickets are here, and they look even better than last year's.

They are the size of a business card, and they are so much easier to sell than our old "theater" type tickets.

We are going to send out the tickets like last year. If you want to sell door prize tickets, drop me a line at tealcarver@yahoo.com.

00, they get the seventh card to put on their refrigerator to remind them when the show takes place, and the time of the door prize drawing.

2 Bob Joseph Screech Owl Immature Peregrine Falcon Door Prize Tickets are available The 2014 door prize tickets are here, and they look even better than last year's. In case you didn't see last year's, they had a picture of one of the door prize birds on the front, and a place for the buyer's name and phone number. They are the size of a business card, and they are so much easier to sell than our old "theater" type tickets. Last year was the third best door prize sales in the last ten years. Remember, all the money from the door prize goes to support PFDA. We are going to send out the tickets like last year. If you want to sell door prize tickets, drop me a line at tealcarver@yahoo.com. I will be sending the tickets out in bundles of seven. Why? If a person buys 6 for $5.00, they get the seventh card to put on their refrigerator to remind them when the show takes place, and the time of the door prize drawing. So if you want door prize tickets, please order them in multiples of seven. I was surprised last year because I sent out some pretty hefty envelopes stuffed with up to 63 cards inside. So help support PFDA and sell some tickets. These are attractive and almost sell themselves, so send me an order. Below is a picture of the door prize ticket front and back so you know what you are ordering. Happy Selling

3 FOAM BIRDS????? The September Board meeting had a surprise or two for the board members and the visitors. We all heard about "foam birds". I'm thinking to myself, why in the world someone would want to carve a foam bird and what would it look like. Brad Snodgrass brought a couple of finished foam birds that were sent to him by Rob James a craftsman of foam birds. When the birds were passed around it was obvious that they were impressive to everyone. After a discussion (hot discussion I might add), a motion was made to have a foam bird competition at the show. The competition would be separate from the PFDA Traditional Hunting Decoys. The rules committee will suggest a set of minimal rules for this category and those rules upon board approval should be available in the next newsletter. Rob James has agreed to provide a short seminar at the show this year to give interested carvers a chance to learn about making foam birds. So if you are interested in making a foam decoy, you will probably want to attend his seminar. Below are a few pictures of the foam decoys made by Rob James but obviously not totally finished. Here are some frequently asked questions about foam birds: What material do you use? Most guys use foam board insulation. It's polystyrene. More than a few of the decoys you saw in Vancouver were made from crab pot buoys. Where do you get it? Foam board insulation can be picked up at most hardware stores. Lowe's and Home Depot type box stores. Crab pot buoys can be tougher to come by, but are readily available in a lot of areas. How do you work it? What tools do you use? Personally, I power carve foam decoys using the same tools (foredom/burrs) the same way a lot of folks do with cork and wood birds. Many guys simply use hand tools... rasps and such. Are the heads foam as well, or do you use wood? Both. Some of what you saw in Vancouver had wooden heads, and some were foam. This is a look at a bird after carving. The tail board is a 1/8" piece of masonite that is glued in to the bird and will later be burlapped over. As you can see, the head is also foam and there is a piece of the

same masonite material used for the tail board sandwiched between two pieces of foam to

At this point, I have added additional coats of tile adhesive to the burlap to give a

Then I grind the burlap material off of the mandible and essentially hand mold the bill

See this tutorial that I did for a better explanation... http://workingdecoys.

4 same masonite material used for the tail board sandwiched between two pieces of foam to make up the head... How do you finish it in preparation for paint, burlap, or flocking? At this point, I have added additional coats of tile adhesive to the burlap to give a smoother look. Then I grind the burlap material off of the mandible and essentially hand mold the bill with apoxy sculpt to a close semblance...then it's carved and sanded. See this tutorial that I did for a better explanation... As you can see, the tail and wing tips have also been reinforced using apoxy sculpt At this point, the bird is ready to be sealed and prepped for paint (or flocking)

5 What paints are you using? Generally speaking, the same paints carvers are using for cork and wood birds. Foamers are sealed with water based sealants if they are to be painted with acrylics, and oil based sealers for oils based paints and flocked finishes. For the most part, flocking is applied with the use of oil based enamel paints as the adhesive. The flocking itself can then be painted over. If so, how do you attach the heads and keels? In this photo, you can see the "tab" sticking out of the base of the Swan's neck. That is part of the masonite hardboard that I mentioned being sandwiched inside the head. On a typical build, the head would be glued to the body prior to burlapping (or restle coating) the bird, but in the case of this swan, I had to do the two pieces separately in order to create space to work the mandible. As for attaching keels, I also put a tutorial together that will better explain that as well... Man Boxes Needed Alright, I wasn't familiar with the phrase either, but Jerry Urban came up with a "Man" basket last year. You know, stuff that guys like. I got an from Jerry informing me that there was no such thing as a "Man Basket" and that "Man" and "Basket" could not be connected in the same sentence. He told me that the correct terminology was Man Box. So now that we all know what a man box is, I can go on and feel secure in the fact that you and I now know what I am talking about. We need a few more man baskets (I meant boxes) at the Saturday night banquet. Guy oriented boxes did well last year even though there were only two that could be really considered Man Boxes. So put your thinking cap on and create and donate a Man Box to the raffle. You will be supporting PFDA and having a good time getting all those guy things together. By the way, all the items can be put in a

6 basket, but the basket will be known as a box from that point forward. As always the first, second, and third place raffle boxes or baskets get some really nice Cline Wine and some superb chocolate to enjoy with the wine. Do You Ever Teach a Painting Seminar? For many years, the PFDA has traveled throughout northern California attending a variety of bird festivals and teaching carving seminars. The most asked question at these events... "Do you ever teach a painting seminar?" The answer is yes! We teach an annual "painting" seminar in Newcastle. Bill Peters hosts the seminar at his ranch, traditionally during the first weekend in May. Students carve their bird on Saturday and paint it on Sunday, going home with a finished project. For the 2014 seminar, students have their choice of a reduced size drake Cinnamon Teal, Snowy Egret, or a feeding Avocet. The seminar price of $90 includes lunch both days. For more information, contact jburcio@comcast.net. This seminar is limited to 10 students. A PERSPECTIVE ON MEMBERSHIP. Since our beginning in 1971, our competitions have been open to all carvers. At no time has PFDA required a carver to belong to any association to compete at our show. The only exception has been when we have hosted an IWCA Championship event at our show, as it was our understanding that IWCA national championships involved IWCA members who had qualified by accumulating points. A May 10, 2013 letter from IWCA informed PFDA that we were not in compliance with IWCA rules requiring all competing carvers must be members of IWCA. Our 2013 Show Brochure did not state that requirement, and we were granted an exemption from that rule only for that show. In that same letter we were told that beginning with our 2014 Show, there would be no exceptions, and that our show must be in 100% compliance with IWCA rules. The IWCA letter was discussed at the September 2013 Board of Directors meeting held in Chico. After a lengthy discussion, the Board voted to resign from our IWCA organizational membership effective that date. Recognizing that our last show brochure references IWCA rules, and the need to remove that language, President Bob Joseph appointed an ad hoc committee to examine our current rules and make recommendations for any rule changes. Categories that will be rewritten include, but are not limited to: Decorative Life-size, Decorative Miniatures, Decorative Floating, IWCA Style Decoy, and Gunning Shorebirds. The proposed rule changes will be presented to the Board for their consideration at the January meeting in Arcata. PFDA members will be apprised of their decision in the early 2014 Newsletter Pacific Flyway Decoy Association

In This Issue. PFDA- Fall, President s Message 1. Thanks from the Co-Chair 2. Show Report 4. Wing Ding?? 5. Officers & Board of Directors 7

In This Issue. PFDA- Fall, President s Message 1. Thanks from the Co-Chair 2. Show Report 4. Wing Ding?? 5. Officers & Board of Directors 7 In This Issue President s Message 1 Thanks from the Co-Chair 2 Show Report 4 Wing Ding?? 5 Officers & Board of Directors 7 Know Your Birds 8 President s Message The Dust Has Settled Greetings from Fallon