Carl Durance isn't only associate director of UW's computer systems group -- he's a good man with a knife as well. For example, his realistic bird carving "the Screech Owl" won first place in the "miniature birds of prey" category at the novice level of the World Wildfowl Carving Competition held in Ocean City, Maryland, last spring. Durance has entered the competition for the last four years. This time the 200 hours he's put into carving paid off, earning him first prize in this division across all the categories. The Wildfowl Carving competition draws competitors from around the world, but is dominated by carvers from North America. The competition is divided into four classes or levels of competition: world-level, open, intermediate and novice. Each level has a number of different categories, such as shorebirds, songbirds, birds of prey, game birds, waterbirds. Durance, who has been carving birds exclusively for about seven years now, entered two carvings in the last competition. One was a half-size Eastern Screech Owl (in the red phase or morph), the other a full-sized Sharp-Shin Hawk, which took second place in the full-size birds of prey category at the novice level. Durance learned the art form through local courses, some of which have been taught by World-level competition winners including Larry Barth (a four-time winner). Durance says both species of these birds can be seen locally, although the Screech Owl (the grey phase, or morph) is more common. Durance notes that "realistic" bird carving, as opposed to stylistic carving, requires a "highly accurate interpretation of the species including anatomical correctness, characteristic pose, characteristic composition, and artistic presentation". Realistic bird carvers typically work with either Basswood, which grows locally, or Tupelo, which grows in the swamps of the southern United States The Screech Owl is carved from Tupelo; the Sharp-Shin Hawk from Basswood. Durance does his initial design in clay first, before he proceeds to the actual wood. "Clay gives freedom to quickly and creatively experiment with the model before moving to wood, and any problems with composition, posture, balance, and other issues can easily be adjusted in clay. Ideas mature as you work on it," he says. His carving tools vary from wood knives and chisels to high-speed electric and air-driven grinders. Typical electric grinders rev from 15,000 to 50,000 RPM, with newer air-driven grinders revving from 200,000 to 400,000 RPM. A large variety of bits are used, including fine ruby and diamond grit bits. Once the form of the carving is finished, fine feather detail is etched into the surface of the wood with a wood- burning pen or fine high-speed grinding bits. Durance says it is important to portray the feathers in a soft and pleasing but accurate flow: "One should always be thinking ahead to the painting phase. With a poorly textured bird, it's extremely difficult to achieve a natural-looking colouring." The final phase is the painting. Carvers use either oils or acrylic. Acrylic paint is typically applied in thin transparent layers; a bird may have five to ten layers, or even more, of acrylic paint in areas to achieve the required colouring. The transparency of acrylics allows for the gentle blending of colours between areas. Depending on the detail of the carving, a project can take as little as 20 to 30 hours, but competition birds often stretch into hundreds of hours for a single carving. Durance says he finds wildfowl carving "educational, fascinating, relaxing, and rewarding", giving him a needed break from the high technology industry of computer software. That's true at least until the days before the big competitions when he works long hours through the night to complete an entry for competition.