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'Caines boys' take home five awards in carving festival
5/17/2008 | Today's Georgetown Times Online Edition
Published on 5/8/2008
By Meredith Carter
mcarter@gtowntimes.com
These days, it's not a question of whether duck decoy carvers Jerry and Roy Caines will win medals, it's a question of how many (and what color).
The brothers, who have dubbed themselves "the Caines boys," took home five prize ribbons -- including first-, second- and third-place ribbons -- from the two-day Lake Country Wildlife Arts Festival, held in South Hill, Va., in late April.
According to Jerry, the competition included some 200 entries -- and he couldn't be happier with the end results.
"I was tickled pink," said Jerry, adding that this was the first time he and Roy have entered the Lake Country Festival. "There was a lot of stiff competition there."
Entered into the songbirds division, a carving of two cardinals won a first-place blue ribbon and a third-place Best in Show ribbon. The brothers' black duck carving took second-place honors, earning a red ribbon, and placed second in Best in Show. Their black wood duck hen carving earned a third-place ribbon. Jerry and Roy also sold several of Jerry's prints and copies of their autobiography, "A Native Son's Storry of Fishing, Hunting and Duck Decoys in the Lowcountry."
Jerry said he was particularly proud that the songbirds carving earned accolades, since it's the first time he and Roy have created a songbird carving.
"I decided I wanted to try it -- my mind just runs that way," Jerry said. "I told Roy, and he said, 'OK, let's try it.' And it won two ribbons."
The carving, which took about two months to complete, features two cardinals resting on a hand-carved wooden perch. Jerry, who painted the carving, said he wanted to emphasize the details, right down to a worm wriggling up from the carving's "dirt" base.
This wasn't the first time, though, that Jerry and Roy decided to create something new. Last year, they carved a 28-pound American eagle with a six-foot wingspan. The carving, which is for sale, sits inside the Georgetown County Museum on Prince Street.
To date, the brothers have carved 23 full-size decoys and 95 miniature decoys. Jerry also creates prints of their carvings, though he said he doesn't have much free time to paint anymore.
The Lake Country Festival marked the brothers' final decoy festival until fall, when they plan to enter more festivals, including one in Hickory, N.C. Still, that doesn't mean Jerry and Roy will be taking a vacation.
In the meantime, Jerry said he plans to keep carving full-time, while Roy will contribute part-time. Roy said he will use part of that time to hone his painting skills.
"We'll be carving unless there are houses to paint, shingles to put on roofs -- you know, stuff to pay the light bill," Jerry joked.
Next week, for the first time, Jerry and Roy will take their show on the road. They will do a carving demonstration at Andrews Christian School on Wednesday, May 14, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
