Paper and Wood: Two Artists' Visions of Wild Birds

Drew Groves and Dan Calder showcase a collection of wooden birds and photographs.

About the artists:

Dan Calder: I am an artist, birder, and former science teacher living in Contoocook, New Hampshire.

My interest in birds and the natural world started in my early childhood when I spent summers mucking about in the marshes and exploring the woods and beaches on the North Shore of Massachusetts. This interest grew during three years at a marine biology lab in Florida and three years as an environmental educator in Rhode Island.

I have always enjoyed drawing and painting, being an enthusiastic doodler through high school and college, and experimenting with different media including pencil, pen, charcoal, pastel, watercolor, oil, acrylic paint and photography, often using nature as my inspiration.

In 1990, I moved to New Hampshire and started teaching high school science. During my last 23 years of teaching I was at Bow High School where I met fellow science teacher, Drew Groves, and found we had a shared interest in the outdoors and celebrating the natural world through visual art.

After retiring from teaching in 2023, I combined my interest in birds and art and started designing and painting life-size wooden birds. I have found that the activities of birding and creating wooden birds complement each other very well - seeing birds in the wild inspires me to design new wooden birds, and working on the wooden birds helps me to focus on the details of shape and color that are important for identifying birds in the field. In addition to selling my birds through Etsy, I am honored to have some of my birds on display at two wildlife rehabilitation and education centers in Maine: the Center for Wildlife in York, and the Acadia Wildlife Center in Bar Harbor.    

Through my life-size wooden birds, I hope to foster an appreciation for the variety of beautiful colors, shapes, and patterns in birds, and to give people an up-close sense of the relative size of different birds, from the tiny hummingbird to the amazing Peregrine Falcon.

Drew Groves: I am a recently retired biology teacher from Bow High School as well as nature photographer. It was during my career at BHS where I met fellow science teacher and good friend, Dan Calder. We quickly found that we share a common interest in the outdoors, and the conservation of our natural world.  

My own intense passion with photographing the natural world, including bird photography, was driven mostly from wanting to share the splendor of a pristine wilderness and wildlife, with family and friends. Later, I realized how impactful my images could be when shared with students, and others, to understand the beauty and delicate balance of our natural world.       

I spend much of my time exploring New Hampshire’s ‘open spaces’ along with other areas up and down the east coast, Alaska…..anywhere! I have taken student groups to study diverse ecosystems in Belize and South Africa, and joined a Costa Rican Teacher Fellowship to aid in Leatherback sea turtle conservation. In focusing on bird photography, I seek both the intricacy of bird morphology, as well as their unique behaviors, and role in the ecosystem.