Stronsay snipe carving is best in Britain
A wooden snipe sculpted in Stronsay by David Askew has come up trumps in a British wood carving competition.
The creation gave the 64-year-old his third win in the Festival of Bird Art held in Derbyshire on September 12/13.
It is the latest recognition for a one-time hobby of his which has grown to become an all-consuming passion.
Mr Askew’s work has become known in Orkney since he and his wife bought a house in Stronsay about five years ago.
They spend half their time on the island and the other half at their other home in his native Yorkshire Dales.
He has been turning out hand-crafted birds and moths for more than 20 years.
Mr Askew got the bug for woodworking from his Scottish grandfather.
His first creation was a wooden rocking horse he made for his daughter Holly, then six.
As his skill developed, he married the craft with his love of nature and, in particular, birdlife.
He recalled: “I also liked painting and when I discovered bird carving, I combined that with my woodworking.”
Asked what species he most likes to depict, he said: “I suppose my favourite is the curlew. That is the bird I also get asked to carve the most. It has a nice, pleasing form.
“Since we moved to Orkney, I have got asked to carve it quite a lot,” said David, the retired director of science at Natural England.
He has showcased hundreds of his carvings at The Longship in Kirkwall.
His exhibit at the competition in Bakewell, organised by the British Decoy Wildfowl Carvers Association, was called “flushed snipe.”
He reckons it would have taken him 70 to 80 hours to work on with his collection of hand tools, carving gouges and knives.
David, the current chair of the association, said: “I’m obviously pleased to have won.
“I don’t crave to win competitions or make money but it’s nice to get the acknowledgement that people appreciate what I do.”
Three years ago, a woodcock he produced topped the miniature class at the World Bird Carving competition in the US.
David said: “Bird carving is very big in the States – that is where it really started off from.
“The association has got just shy of 200 members but there are obviously others out there who are not members.”
David and Liz first visited Orkney in a campervan in 2021 when they visited the Mainland, Westray and Hoy.
“We just thought it was great,” he said.
“We really enjoyed it and when we returned, as I was coming up to retirement age, we decided we wanted to spend a lot more time here and ended up finding a house in Stronsay.”