As long as there are birds in the skies, Bill Rice will sculpt them. That’s essentially the work ethic, the focus, and the passion with which he has been operating for more than 40 years as an artist who specializes in avian wood carvings.
The winner of several awards, including the 2024 People’s Choice Award at the Adirondack Experience Museum in Blue Mountain, New York, Rice’s home is in an area of Connecticut where he can walk outside and see different types of birds every day. Summer walks with his wife, photographer Brooke Rice, present endless subject matter.
“This is the height of the migration here right now,” he said in late May. “Brooke and I will go out on Sundays, early in the morning, when nobody else is out, and walk the trails or go along the rivers and watch for the migrant warblers that are coming through. And we’ve seen some nice Redstarts, some Blackburnian warblers. I’ve done only a couple of those, and I’ll think, ‘You know, I want to get back and try another one of those. They’re a beautiful bird.’ We’re fortunate enough here to have, at this time of the year, tons of beautiful birds come through. It usually sparks my interest in something new and different that I haven’t done before.”
Read the full article in the September/October 2025 issue.
Owl Feather
basswood and oils
2″ by 3″ by 1″
Vermillion Flycatcher
basswood and oils
12″ by 3″ by 5.5″
