Creative wings
Carver Bill Testu branches out at Summerside Craft Fair
A self-taught carver branched out his intricate wooden creations at a Craft Fair in Summerside’s Credit Union Place recently.
Bill Testu, of Kensington, breathes new life into dead trees with a steady hand, a lot of patience and some imagination, transforming them into intricate bird replicas.
“I only use wood that I get from a tree service company back in Quebec,” noted Testu. “And this tree service company takes down dead, dying or damaged trees from a storm, and I get a good deal from them. It’s very important to me to know where the wood comes from.”
Part of his work includes repurposing dead butternut trees.
“Butternut is the main material that I use. It’s in the same family as the walnut, but it’s softer and easier to carve. It also has a more interesting grain, generally. But I don’t like non-sustainable resources, and even though this wood is disappearing because it has a plight, I will never use a live tree,” he said.
From key racks, lapel pins, ornaments to birds, Testu produces carvings with carefully crafted details, as well as working with oil paints and fire to add colour and texture.
“My main interest is birds. Many years ago when I was very young, there was a much older local lady, we called her the Bird Watcher, and she started pointing out birds and their habits and stuff like that, and it just got me interested in them,” reminisced Testu.
A duck decoy inspired his first carving.
“I started carving after seeing a duck decoy at a friend’s place, and I was captivated by the old wooden carving. I believed I could make something similar,” he said. “Although I had never made anything like that before, I had done some woodwork.”
After many how-to books and cut fingers, Testu became hooked, and his creations took flight.
“I got some wood and started to chip away and next thing I had something that looked like a duck.”
For more than 30 years, off and on, Testu has been pursuing his woodcarving hobby.
“Since I’ve been retired I’ve had more time to devote to it, and I find that I really enjoy producing these pieces. I have to sell some to make room for others.”
Casual browsers and shopaholics flocked to the craft fair, where Testu perched his table.
“There are 54 tables selling all sorts of things you can think of from A to Z,” said Louie Myers, who organized the event with his wife Joanne. “Several hundred people have already walked in this morning.”
The duo has been organizing craft fairs around the Island since 2014.
More information on Testu’s woodcarvings is available at: www.sites.google.com/site/billtestuwoodcarvings.