My
name is William DeSelms,
and I have been sculpting and painting birds since I was seven years
old. Birds have always fascinated me with their incredible variety of
form and color. I grew up in rural Illinois surrounded by nature. My
father and grandfather were avid hunters and conservationists, so I grew up seeing up close the beauty of the feathers of many ducks and
game-birds. I never hunted (I couldn’t kill anything!) but spent
many hours in the field with my father. In the 1980’s I built
a solar greenhouse in which I kept and bred many species of African
and Australian finches. That was invaluable for the study of bird behavior.
I was fortunate to have my work featured in the 2000 fall edition of
Birds & Blooms magazine. I hope you enjoy looking at the birds, and let me know if I can supply you with a special gift, or help you
begin a collection of your own! Thanks for coming!!!
Bill DeSelms, Wildlife sculptor. [email]
The birds are all initially made by hand from a polymer clay. I shape
the basic body form then use darning needles and exacto-blades to carve
the feather details into the clay. The material is then baked and I begin
the construction of the mold. The original is suspended by wires inside
a form and a mixture of silicone rubber is poured over the bird. After
curing, the bird is very carefully cut from the rubber mold. The mold
must then cure for an additional time and is then ready for casting. The
material I use for casting is a two part resin compound mixed with tiny
glass particles, to create a porcelain-like product. (The resins are the
same used in the movie industry for much of their model making! The White
House model in the movie Independence Day for instance.) After casting
the bird is removed from the mold and then completely hand painted. Some
of the birds, the hen pheasant for instance, have as many as 1200 brush-strokes
on a 2 ½ inch bird. The game-birds are priced a little higher for
this reason. The painting is so labor intensive. I can also do original
of birds that don’t appear in the catalog or website. They are priced
according to difficulty, but generally run twice the price of the reproductions.
If you have any other questions about the process, Let me know, and I
will try to answer them for you! ~W.D.
My
name is 
The birds are all initially made by hand from a polymer clay. I shape
the basic body form then use darning needles and exacto-blades to carve
the feather details into the clay. The material is then baked and I begin
the construction of the mold. The original is suspended by wires inside
a form and a mixture of silicone rubber is poured over the bird. After
curing, the bird is very carefully cut from the rubber mold. The mold
must then cure for an additional time and is then ready for casting. The
material I use for casting is a two part resin compound mixed with tiny
glass particles, to create a porcelain-like product. (The resins are the
same used in the movie industry for much of their model making! The White
House model in the movie Independence Day for instance.) After casting
the bird is removed from the mold and then completely hand painted. Some
of the birds, the hen pheasant for instance, have as many as 1200 brush-strokes
on a 2 ½ inch bird. The game-birds are priced a little higher for
this reason. The painting is so labor intensive. I can also do original
of birds that don’t appear in the catalog or website. They are priced
according to difficulty, but generally run twice the price of the reproductions.
If you have any other questions about the process, Let me know, and I
will try to answer them for you! ~W.D.