Captain Charles Mc Daniel

Written by Nick Erway, Webmaster!!

Captain Charles McDaniel is a retired Waterman who has spent his entire life in and around the Chesapeake Bay area. Living on Seneca Creek in the Middle River area just north of Baltimore, Md. This is the place place Captain Charles calls home.

From a young boy he has been an avid Duck Hunter and marveled in the breathtaking beauty of Waterfowl. He has owned, lost and used many different types of decoy. His preference is to use wooden decoys which are called "smoothies", wooden decoys with a smooth surface and painted in masterful detail to make it look as the wings lift out of the surface. He knows the value of good decoys and what it takes to make them.

As he approached retirement, Captain Charles became interested in making some decoys for himself and friends as a hobby. He has always been good with wood and made many of the items he needed around the home. It was with enthusiasm that he started carving Decoys. He attends carving classes at the Ward Brothers Center in Crisfield, MD twice a year since 1995, learning various techniques and styles. It is here in these classes that he was taught by some of the finest woodcarvers in the area. Most notably he has worked with Charlie Bryant, Rick Smoker, Sr. and Rick Smoker, Jr., Paul Butcher and Gary Fischer.

Captain Charles has developed a style of his own as does any true craftsman. His love for the Ward Style Decoy has led his style to follow the type of working bird featuring very detailed and sometimes intricate painting. All of these decoys are completely hand carved without the use of a reproduction lathe of any kind. They are shaped to exacting standards with a draw knife and meticulous care. Heads are hand carved as well and made to his own developing style. He has had help especially from Charlie Bryant, a decoy making legend in his own right on developing his own head style and still gets together with him to carve.

Many of Charles' decoys utilize the flat bottom with a center rudder board or keel. Utilizing a copper tie ring, all his decoys are signed and numbered. These decoys are truly as beautiful as they are useful. Charles has carved many a decoy still in use for gunning rigs and displayed in homes. His decoys have made their way up and down the east coast and as far as the mid-west.

Art Carvings by Milford Hopkins

Written by Nick Erway, Webmaster!!

Milford Hopkins has been carving for over 16 years. He first became interested in waterfowl carving in his late teens. Always fascinated by the beauty and wonder of natures creations, Milford began carving while watching his grandfather make working decoys for hunting. Although mostly self taught, he has studied video tapes and learned from Pat Godins, a World Champion Bird Carver.

He grew up and lives in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, a small town where there is wide variety of Waterfowl and other beautiful birds to study and marvel in their wonderful colors. Many hours have been spent practicing and perfecting this art form. You will agree, the effort was worth it.

Milford has won numerous ribbons at Ducks Unlimited contests in Canada, and locally in Nova Scotia, as well as placing 7th at the World Championships in Maryland. Milford is surely an Artist with wood and understands the beauty of Nature in all it's finest detail. He has the ability to impart this beauty onto a block of wood.

Each carving takes over 100 hours to create. Truly breathtaking works of art made as true to life size as possible. These carvings are made from top quality Basswood and then detailed with a wood burning pen for the feather detail of the quills and barbs. Glass eyes are used for realism and then completely hand painted in true to life colors using vivid acrylic paint. The following pictures can only begin to show the beauty of these works of art.