Virginia Brown , Woodcarver

Virginia was born in the Harrisburg area and graduated from Susquehanna Twp. High School earning many artistic awards along the way including designing the first school flag. She studied at home for three years with the famous artist’s school while raising three children, attended university center, Harrisburg and Harrisburg Area Community College.
Virginia’s artistic beginnings were in oil and acrylic paintings. She began carving as a mobile art form to be enjoyed while traveling and on vacations. Virginia has traveled extensively, always carrying binoculars to enable the observation of birds, their antics, expressions and behavior in order to authentically capture these traits in her carvings.
Placing the carved bird in a realistic setting is as important as the actual carving. The use of unique roots, stumps and branches found while hiking and kayaking along the trails and rivers is an important part of the process.
Basswood is the preferred choice of wood because it is lightweight but dense which creates a smooth finished product; hardwoods are used occasionally in the more stylized renditions.
Once the bird is carved, sanded and perfectly shaped the tedious craft of wood burning or feathering begins which often takes longer than the actual carving. This process is what actually makes the bird come alive and gives it dimension. To complete the project, water based paints are applied and protected with several coats of matt varnish.
Virginia has been involved in fine arts for many years and continues to carve, paint and experiment with various forms of art.