Curt's Decoys 530 Prentice Street Granite Falls, MN 56241 320.226.6839 psoine@hotmail.com Hand carved shorebirds, waterfowl, gamebirds, fish & decorative folk art. Exhibiting at home studio Directions:530 Prentice St. (Main Street) 1/2 block W of the Dam, across the street from Fire Hall Artist Biography: A mild mannered UPS driver by day, Curt Soine finds creative release in carving fish decoys, swans, ducks, geese, shorebirds, songbirds, and occasionally dabbling in making twig tables and canoe paddles. He had carved briefly when he was a kid in the Boy Scouts, but then started carving again shortly after he got out of the Navy in 1980, when his wife showed him a picture of a swan decoy she liked that was priced at $400, and he thought “that doesn’t look so tough; I could make one of those.” And so it began…. Curt is mostly a self-taught artist, with the help of some books and the advice of other carvers. He likes carving working decoys the best, carving most of his decoys out of basswood, but occasionally uses cedar, pine, butternut, and even foam insulation! The fish decoys he carves are weighted with lead that he melts and pours, and they have copper or brass fins that he cuts and hammers. He uses power tools for roughing out the decoy and uses knives and chisels for the detailed work. He donates decoys to Ducks Unlimited, National Wild Turkey Federation, Pheasants Forever, and other fundraisers, and gives some as gifts to family and friends. In 2006 he competed in his first competition, the National Fish Decoy Association competition in Perham, Minnesota, earning several ribbons. In 2007, he won three 2nd place and one 1st place ribbons for his decoys. In 2008 he won three 1st places, one 2nd place, one 3rd, and his first Best of Show. 2009 was another ribbon collecting year, and he was also featured in Doug Lodermeier’s book, “Minnesota Duck Decoys, Yesterday’s and Today’s Folk Artists”. Most of Curt’s carving is done during those long, cold winter months. In the summer, he and his wife escape to their cabin on Lake Minnewaska every weekend, where inspiration for the next carving is outside every window. They also like to hit all their favorite antique haunts, as Curt collects old working decoys, appreciating them for their workmanship and design.