It wasn’t hunting that first led Jerry Talton to decoy carving, it was history. After the Stella, North Carolina, resident read a book by a local author, it hit him. “Ducks were literally the economy in Carteret County for years,” Talton says. “They’re part of my home.”
He honors that history by carving what’s often described as “contemporary antiques” in the Core Sound style. “I make decoys the exact same way that they’ve been made in this county for the last 100 years,” Talton says.
That means choosing every piece of wood, drawing his own patterns and joining the boards with traditional joiners. He doesn’t use contemporary tools, instead favoring the more primitive bowl adze and spoon gouge. He grinds his own paints. “I try to do every piece of it by hand,” he says.
For Talton, the decoys turn back time for him once again when they’re in use. It’s another way for him to pay his respects to the land where he resides. “When you’re in the water and you’ve got those wooden decoys out there, there’s just something about it -- the soul of the wood with the saltwater on it,” he says. “The ducks are secondary.”
Talton's exclusive set for Splinter Creek features four ducks native to the Delta flyway, perfect for Mississippi hunters and nature enthusiasts, and a wall sculpture. The Delta Flyway Collection includes a Blue Wing Teal Wing Duck, Ringneck Wing Duck, Gadwall and Pintail, and the Flying Brant Plaque wall mount.
