• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
Heart of Louisiana Logo

The Heart of Louisiana

  • Staycations
  • Regions
    • New Orleans Region
    • Capital Region
    • Acadiana
    • Southwest Louisiana
    • Central Louisiana
    • Northshore
    • North Louisiana
    • Bayou Region
  • 60 Second Road Trips
  • TV Stories
  • Buy Photos
  • Recent Posts
  • Show Search
Hide Search
Home/Bayou Region/Wood Carver & the Eagle
closeup of bald eagle head carved from wood

Wood Carver & the Eagle

A world champion wood carver from Terrebonne Parish has a new masterpiece in the middle of his living room. Curtis Fabre has finished work on a life-sized bald eagle, a project that he started eight years earlier.

man dressed in long sleeved shirt with glasses and bald head places hands on wood bald eagle he carved
Curtis Fabre shows off the fine detail of his carved bald eagle

When he was growing up in the southern Louisiana bayou community of Montegut, making duck decoys was a way of life. Fabre remembers helping his father make the wooden decoys for hunting in the lakes and marshes near their home. Fabre recalls, “when it came off the bandsaw there was still corners that needed to be cut off. I would take a hatchet and do that.” But it wasn’t until years later, when he was working in the oilfields, that a friend showed him a quality duck carving. Fabre was impressed, “I had never seen anything so beautiful in all my life.”

wood carved decoys on display in living room
Part of Curtis Fabre’s collection of carved decoys

wood carver learns from the best

Fabre says he befriended master wood carver Andrew “Tan” Brunet from Galliano, Louisiana. Brunet guided Fabre as he became more interested in carving. Fabre also started selling carving supplies and would bring a trailer full of goods to sell to other wood carvers at competitions around the country. Tupelo is a favorite wood of duck decoy carvers. Tupelo trees grow abundantly in Louisiana swamps. Fabre says the bell-shaped bottom of the tupelo tree is perfect for carving. “It’s light as a feather,” Fabre explains, and he adds, “when you’re cutting that wood, it purrs.” Fabre has color-coded blocks of tupelo wood stacked in a storage shed behind his home.

trunk of large tupelo tree growing in river swamp
Bell-shaped trunk of tupelo tree in river bottomland swamp
Fabre’s color-coded blocks of tupelo wood for wood carvers

wood carver tips for creating feathers

Watch video of Curtis Fabre’s technique for caring feathers

from duck decoys to bald eagle

Fabre has won multiple national and world bird carving championships, including “best in show”. He has been a regular participant in the Ward World Championship in Salisbury, Maryland. But perhaps his most impressive carving is a life-sized bald eagle. The 93-year old says he got his inspiration for the eagle while on a fishing trip in Minnesota. Fabre spotted an eagle in a tree above where he was fishing, “just looking down at me.” He recalls that the eagle stayed there for an hour before flying away. “That was the first and only time I’d ever seen an eagle,” said Fabre. He used a life-sized photograph of a bald eagle as a guide for carving his own out of wood.

Powerful gaze of a bald eagle carving

Bald eagle carving featured on tv

Watch this Heart of Louisiana TV feature on Curtis Fabre’s bald eagle.

More Tales from the Bayou

life-sized sculptures in Chauvin, Louisiana

Chauvin Sculpture Garden

    side view of propeller and cockpit of small Air Force One with presidential seal below window

    Bayou Air Force One

      bald eagle soaring over trees in a south Louisiana swamp

      Bayou Eagles

        Written by:
        Dave McNamara
        Published on:
        December 9, 2022
        Thoughts:
        4 Comments

        Categories: Bayou Region, Featured

        Reader Interactions

        Comments

        1. Belinda Cormier

          May 30, 2022 at 6:30 pm

          Most Beautiful Wooden Decoys Has ve Ever Seen ! Bald Eagle 🦅 the Most Beautiful Eagle I’ve Ever Seen ! Just Amazing !

          Reply
        2. Butch Cameron

          July 14, 2022 at 12:51 pm

          Curtis is one of the finest men i have ever delt with. I have bought tools, wood and knives from him. He has always be more than fair on his prices and little hints on carving. I have held in my own hand his award winning Black Duck; I felt like it was going to move in my hand. The last time I saw him i bought a new wood burning unit from him and he told me durning that vist that he was going to carve that eagle before he retired from carving. He did it and like all his work it is beautiful.

          Reply
        3. Louis Livan

          July 28, 2022 at 10:43 am

          Curtis is the epitome gentleman. I’ve always bought my Tupelo from him over the last 25 years. He always gave me great advice and never ask anything of me. Being an accomplished carver he is true American treasure. Thank you
          Lou

          Reply
        4. Gary De Cew

          August 1, 2022 at 2:38 pm

          I have bought wood and products from Curt over the decades. I got to meet him in person finally, after I retired and started going to the Ward World Championships. I then got to talk to him about bird carving. What a treasure trove of knowledge. He is one of the most gracious humans that I have met in my lifetime.

          Reply

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Heart of Louisiana logo

        Footer

        Copyright © 2023 Heart of Louisiana · Web Design

        • Facebook
        • Instagram
        • About Dave McNamara
        • Contact
        • Advertising Opportunities
        • Archives
        • Privacy Policy
        • Site Map