How to Care for Carved Birds
The birds are carved from a single piece of basswood, including the beak. They have been finished with many coats of water-based shellac and lacquer. The glass eyes have been glued in with epoxy. The bases most often have a water-based finish (color, shellac, and lacquer) and often a rubbed and buffed beeswax topcoat.
The legs are shellac-covered hemlock and are carefully fitted to each bird and each base. Importantly, they are not glued but are held by ‘tight-fits’, meaning a little compression and a little tension. With humidity changes, they become tighter or looser, so careful handling from the base is vital (versus just picking them up by the bird’s body).
If you need to snug up a loose fitting leg, do so by holding a leg either near the body or near the base and very gradually and very carefully applying light, even pressure.
Any dusting or cleaning should be done with a soft cotton cloth.
Should they ever need repair, for shipping instructions back to my shop and estimate of cost, please contact me.