Hank Tyler, a carver respected internationally for his depictions of birds in hardwoods and his work in environmental conservation, is the featured artist for the Wendell Gilley Museum’s People-Nature-Art speaker series on Tuesday, Oct. 5 online at 7 p.m. A native of Brunswick, he now lives in Australia and will join us via Zoom from there (where it will be 8 a.m. on Oct. 6!).
His work is in many private collections, and in museum collections including the Gilley’s. Hank’s style is a blend of realism and slight abstraction, with the wood grain playing a major role in each sculpture’s design. Action, too, is always a part his is carvings, whether it’s petrels soaring over ocean waves, sandpipers feeding on mudflats, or owls alert for prey. He uses many different hardwoods in his work, always working from a single piece, hand carving with chisels, and finishing only in Tung oil.
He began carving in high school and studied with famed Maine carver Charles “Chippy” Chase. People-Nature-Art is the Gilley’s signature monthly year-round series that brings artists, writers, carvers, and creative types of all kinds to the Gilley to share how nature impacts their art and how that art affects their approach to the natural world.
This special online event is offered at no charge, but reservations are required. Sign up at https://www.wendellgilleymuseum.org/reserve/oznGo.
Please note: Anyone can attend for free the night of the live event, but the recording afterward is available only to museum members.