Ottawa Club Teal

Quite a few of my favorite classes are very serendipitous, and this is a good example. While doing research on some teal decoys, I came across one from the Ottawa Shooting Club of Fremont, Ohio. Dating from the 1870s to 1880s, this decoy has such a simple form I decided to incorporate it into a class. During a weekend class we carved, painted, and finished a pair of them. As you can see, the patterns will work for both green- and blue-winged teal. Look through the instructions and you can see that I was having fun. I omitted some obvious things, like the rounding at the end of the bill and filling in the seams between the neck and body. These were “teaching moments.” The head pattern is on the first page and is from 11 /2" stock. The body is 9 inches long by 4 inches wide and 2 inches thick. You can copy page two side views and paste together at 9 inches. Use the top view painting diagram at 9 inches long by 4 inches wide. For the painting, apply hard lines on the soft lines of the body to give it more of an “edgy” appearance. Have fun and put yourself into the work!