The Waterfowl Festival is pleased to unveil it’s 2018 Featured Sculpture “The Lovers”, an elegant, impressionistic bronze created by renowned artist Eric Tardif of Canada.

Tardif, who hails from Gatineau in the Canadian province of Quebec, was at one time a naturalist in Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area preserve along the shores of the St. Lawrence River. However, his inspiration for this piece started nine years ago in Florida, when he and his family watched in fascination as two birds enacted their courtship ritual. “It was so intense – their focus, their wing movements; it is etched in my memory,” he recounts with a bit of awe.

“I decided to bring this memory to life for Waterfowl Festival and have created two long-tailed birds – The Lovers – in a single, strong piece that expresses the rich and solemn connection and communication between the pair,” said Tardif. “I hope that it expresses their grace, calm, peacefulness and formality during a moment in time.” The Lovers bronze stands 46 inches tall and is mounted on a single base of black marble 42 inches wide and 12 inches deep and is offered at $14,000.

The natural landscapes, heritage and bird life of Eastern Canada have been Tardif’s creative muse for over fifteen years – first inspiring him to pursue his art and still today, helping to shape his perspective. Wild birds, in particular, with their natural elegance and graceful movements, continue to be the source for his inventive and unique brass, bronze, wood and stone sculptures.

While some of Tardif’s work is in brass and bronze, his primary medium remains walnut, Canadian maple, ash, cherry and elm. He does not carve or sculpt in the traditional sense; instead he bends and shapes. “I have always been intrigued by the expressive possibilities of wood,” he explains. “I am constantly researching and refining my methods. Like birds, my work is in a state of perpetual artistic migration, from what I know toward even more expressive ways to form my vision.”

Using a process called ‘steam bending’ – in which strips of wood are steamed to a temperature of more than two hundred degrees (°F), making them pliable enough to bend into curving, intricate forms – Tardif creates abstract sculptures that capture the nuances and intimacies of our feathered friends as they fly, preen, hunt and interact with each other. He notes that even the choice of type of wood “adds touches that are sometimes voluptuous, sometimes solemn” to the feeling of a piece. He will be offering smaller, wood versions of “The Lovers” at the Festival as well.

In addition to many group exhibitions around the world and solo exhibitions in Canada and the U.S., Tardif has been highlighted in the annual “Birds in Art Exhibition” at Ohio’s prestigious Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum. Early in his artistic career he won several awards in Japan and more recently has been a finalist for the NICHE Awards in Washington, D.C., an esteemed competition celebrating excellence and innovation in American and Canadian fine craft. Tardif exhibits at the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in Charleston, South Carolina and other wildlife art events across the U.S each year. He has also served on the Board of Directors for several culture, craft and art councils in his home country.

Visit www.waterfowlfestival.org for updates and more information on the 2018 Festival as it evolves.

About the Waterfowl Festival & Waterfowl Chesapeake
Waterfowl Festival, a partner of Waterfowl Chesapeake, is dedicated to wildlife conservation, the promotion of wildlife art, and the celebration of life on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The 48th Festival will be held November 9-11, 2018 in historic Easton, MD. For more information visit www.waterfowlfestival.org or call 410-822-4567.

The 47th Annual Waterfowl Festival is proud to reveal this year’s signature work of art, The Long Stretch, created by its 2017 Featured Artist Julia Rogers.

Rogers, a local Eastern Shore painter, is an acclaimed wildlife artist at the local, regional and national level. She says, “When you see the place you live through an artist’s vision, it inspires you and renews your love of the beauty that is here and your commitment to conserving it.”

The 2017 featured piece spotlights an elegant, white Tundra Swan spreading its massive wings in the morning light. Rogers use of light and color reflecting off the water gives the painting action and depth, particularly against the backdrop of a Chesapeake Bay marsh teaming with geese and other black-billed Tundra Swans. “I love the color opportunities when painting white subjects,” Rogers explains. “The back lighting was so dramatic and the shadows created so many shades of blue. I also wanted to conjure up the rush of wings and the haunting sounds of the swan’s call.”

A Waterfowl Festival artist for many years, Rogers was honored to be chosen to create this year’s signature piece. She has been highlighted in the prestigious annual “Birds in Art Exhibition” at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, where her work has been purchased for their selective permanent collection. She is a regular exhibitor at the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in Charleston, South Carolina and also attends other wildlife art shows across the country. Rogers is also a member and serves on the Board of the Society of Animal Artists and regularly exhibits in their annual show.

“I was so inspired by Julia’s vision and the final painting,” commented Margaret Enloe, Waterfowl Chesapeake Executive Director. “The Long Stretch perfectly captures the vibrancy of one of our most beautiful winter water birds and, for me, perfectly uses movement, light and detail to subtly show the interconnectedness of our ecosystem. We are honored to have this as our 2017 Featured Art piece.”

The painting, which measures 26″x40″ and is offered at $12,000, will be formally unveiled during the Festival’s VIP Premiere Night Party on Thursday November 9, 2017. More information is available by calling 410-822-4567, visiting www.waterfowlfestival.org or emailing featuredartist@waterfowlfestival.org.

Waterfowl Chesapeake is pleased to announce its funding for two projects that are part of Pickering Creek Audubon Center’s “Waterfowl, Wetlands and People” initiative. The $17,500 WC grant will partially fund the creation of a wetland and meadow trail on their newly restored 17-acre freshwater wetland as well as fully fund landowner workshops.

“The ‘Waterfowl, Wetlands and People’ initiative is a perfect match for Waterfowl Chesapeake. This is one of the many types of projects that we, and our partner organization, Waterfowl Festival, are thrilled to support. The funds are raised in our community at Waterfowl Festival each year and Chesapeake then has the opportunity to reinvest them in conservation work that benefits waterfowl populations and the people on Delmarva,” said Margaret Enloe, Executive Director. “This partnership demonstrates our shared goals of connecting the public with waterfowl and educating them on what they can do to preserve and protect their habitat.”

The wetland and meadow trail project invites casual visitors to experience freshwater wetlands and the waterfowl and other wildlife in their habitat. Many of these types of freshwater wetlands occur on private property out of view of the public. The new trail will include areas for viewing waterfowl as well as interpretive panels to educate the public about the conversion of the land from farm fields to wetlands. It will be used and enjoyed by hikers and school students alike.

The second portion of funding will support landowner workshops to be presented by Pickering Creek Audubon and Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage, most likely next spring. The goal for the workshops is to encourage and educate individual landowners as well as staff and volunteer leaders of local land conservancies, environmental education and other conservation and community organizations, on the restoration of large tracts of farmland to bird and wildlife habitat. During this one-day workshop, participants will receive in depth training on the value of these projects to birdlife, wildlife and water quality as well as materials and resources to share with their respective constituencies.

“We are thrilled to have Waterfowl Chesapeake as our funding partner as we enter the outreach phase of our wetlands restoration project,” said Mark Scallion, Pickering Creek Executive Director. “The financial support from Waterfowl Chesapeake will allow us to reach and educate our local community about the importance of waterfowl to our ecosystem and the large and small steps they can take to preserve their habitat.”

This is the second project Waterfowl Chesapeake has funded in 2016. Says Enloe, “We can support conservation and education in this way, in part, because of the incredible dedication of all the volunteers, sponsors and business supporters that make Waterfowl Festival possible each year. People supporting their community’s spirit, heritage and environment – it’s what it’s all about.”