September 29 - November 17

Jeanie & Bill Wyatt Gallery @ 204 S. Austin

Reception September 29th, 5-7pm

With most of his sculptures made from found and nature-based materials, Let There Be Flight will be featured in the RCA Jeanie & Bill Wyatt Gallery showcasing the incredibly detailed bird sculptures of Spencer Tinkham.  His solo exhibition will be will be viewable and available for collection Sept. 26 –Nov. 17. A public artist talk will be held Friday, Sept. 29, at 1:30 p.m. followed by a reception from 5–7 p.m. Leading up to his exhibition opening, Tinkham will host a Sept. 26 lecture for RCA members, a Sept. 27 soap sculpting class with Liz Smith, and a Sept. 28 class on sculpting and painting a feather. Space is limited for all events and those interested should sign up through the RCA classes and workshops website.

“Almost like specimens in a science museum, Spencer Tinkham’s macro sculptures are studies and methodical,” said Rodriguez. “But there is nothing ‘wooden’ about these objects, under Tinkham’s chisel bird feathers come to life, as whimsical and vivacious as the personalities of the avian from which they come.”

As a child, nothing enthralled Tinkham more than large flocks of hungry waterfowl wintering behind his home in Norfolk, Va. He first discovered his carving and sculpting talents after receiving a pocketknife from his grandfather at the age of 8, creating lasting mementos of his fleeting waterfowl encounters. Completely self-taught with no formal training, by the time he graduated high school, Tinkham was a two-time winner of the Danzer Frazer Youth Decorative Wildfowl World Championship.

“I first started carving and sculpting things I could find around the house, like bars of soap and wood scraps,” said Tinkham. “I then moved on to life-sized duck decoys to lure waterfowl closer so I could critique my work next to wild birds. To this day, so much of my inspiration often stems from sightings while searching for my materials.”  

­­The award-winning Tinkham received his B.S. in Economics in 2015 from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and has since appeared in several solo exhibitions as well as inclusion four years in the prestigious Leigh Yawkey Woodson Birds in Art juried exhibition, with his 2022 entry, “Colaptes auratus” (Northern Flicker), subsequently being acquired for the museum collection. In 2022 he participated in Atrium Artists in Residence with the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art in Virginia Beach, was a 2023 finalist for the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation Wildlife Artist of the Year, and is an Associate Member of the National Sculpture Society. His work is collected and exhibited internationally, including the Dollar Tree, Inc. corporate art collection.

Education

2015 B.S. in Economics, Baylor University, Waco, TX

Selected Exhibitions

2024 (Upcoming) Solo Exhibition, Virginia MOCA; Virginia Beach, VA

2023 (Upcoming) Solo Exhibition, Rockport Center for the Arts; Rockport, TX

(Upcoming) David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation Wildlife Artist of the Year 2023, Mall Galleries; London, UK

(Upcoming) Birds in Art 2023, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum; Wausau, WI

Re-imagining Conservation: From Many Viewpoints, National Museum of Wildlife Art; Jackson, WY

2022 Tidewater Untamed, Mary M. Torggler Fine Arts Center; Newport News, VA

Birds in Art 2022, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum; Wausau, WI

(Selected for tour) Newington Cropsey Foundation, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY;

Muscatine Art Center, Muscatine, IA; Hansen Museum, Logan, KS

Atrium Artists in Residence, Virginia MOCA; Virginia Beach, VA

Strange Paradise: A Window into Surrealism, Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center; Solomons, MD

Open (C)all 2022: What is Missing?, Virginia MOCA; Virginia Beach, VA

The Guiding Hand, Chrysler Museum of Art; Norfolk, VA

2021 Miami University Young Sculptors Competition, Juror Mark Dion, Miami University

Hiestand Galleries; Oxford, OH

Animals, Light Space & Time Gallery; Virtual

2020 Birds in Art 2020, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum; Wausau, WI

(Selected for tour) Newington Cropsey Foundation, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY;

Wendell Gilley Museum, Southwest Harbor, ME; Stamford Museum & Nature Center, Stamford, CT; Fullerton Arboretum, Fullerton, CA

Walk on the Wild Side, Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts; Suffolk, VA

2019 Birds in Art 2019, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum; Wausau, WI

(Selected for tour) Wichita Falls Museum of Art at Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, TX;

Newington Cropsey Foundation, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY;

Wendell Gilley Museum, Southwest Harbor, ME

An Occasion for the Arts, Williamsburg, VA

Modern Makers, Virginia MOCA, Virginia Beach, VA

2017 An Occasion for the Arts, Williamsburg, VA

Residencies

2022 Atrium Artists in Residence, Virginia MOCA

Virginia Beach, VA

Appearances

2022 “Curate | Season 7 | Episode 3,” WHRO-TV15, PBS.org, November, 4, 2022

2019 “’I’ve never taken any art classes.’ Birds in Art artist shares his unique story,” WSAW-NewsChannel 7, November 5, 2019

“44th annual Birds in Art exhibit opens on Saturday,” WAOW-TV9, September 9, 2019

2017 “Creative Carver: Spencer Tinkham,” WHRO-TV15, PBS.org, October 24, 2017

Press

2022 “Imaginative Torah pointers are at center of exhibit at Chrysler Museum,” The Virginian-Pilot, April 15, 2022

2021 “Art of the Decoy,” Garden & Gun, December 2021/January 2022

“The Contractor Saw Takes Flight- Q & A With Spencer Tinkham, Artist & SawStop Owner,” SawStop.com, December 14, 2021

“Birds in Art,” Competition 2020, February 2021

2020 “Eat, Drink & Be Cozy,” Distinction, December 2020/January 2021

2019 “Awesome Avians,” City Pages, October 10, 2019

“’Birds in Art’: How international, first-time artists discovered

Wausau’s premier event,” Wausau Daily Herald, September 5, 2019

“Into the Woods,” Tidewater Traveler, Spring 2019

“Full-time Artistry- Spencer Tinkham,” HocTok, February 2019

2018 “The Interesting World of Duck Decoys and the People Who Collect Them,” Hook & Barrel, November/December 2018

“Search & Decoy,” Garden & Gun, February/March 2018

2017 Woodcarving Illustrated, Spring 2017

“Where Duck Decoys Became High Art,” SmithsonianMag.org, April 24, 2017

“Carver Brings Wood to Life,” Distinction, Spring 2017

2016 “Made in Virginia 2016 Awards,” Virginia Living, December 2016

Awards

2019 National Sculpture Society SEWE Scholarship, New York City, NY

2017 Award of Distinction: 3D, An Occasion for the Arts, Williamsburg, VA

2016 Best Made in Virginia- Virginia Living Magazine Collections

Barr Foundation, Virginia Beach, VA

Dollar Tree, Inc., Chesapeake, VA

Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI