VOA标准英语2012--Artist Uses Special Skills to Create Wood 'Fan Birds'

 

Artist Uses Special Skills to Create Wood 'Fan Birds'

艺术家专注于木制小鸟传统技艺

Cedar¹ fan birds are not considered fine art, but still they require skill and artful hands. The birds carved from wood have deep roots in Europe of the past when men, traveling far from home, sat around at night, carving² and telling stories.

Jeff Jacobs has been a carpenter for more than 30 years. Now, he spends much of his time on his hobby: carving birds from a block of wood without a drop of glue. A Michigan logger taught him how to do it 25 years ago.

杰夫?雅各布斯从事木匠工作已经超过30年。现在,他在其爱好上倾注了自己的大部分时间:不使用一滴胶水用一块木头雕琢成鸟类。密歇根州的一位伐木工在25年前教会了他制作方法。

Jacobs requires a few things: wet wood, mostly white cedar; a good initial cut of the bird’s profile; patient carving that gives shape to what look like feathers and then, his least favorite part - sanding. After sanding, he concentrates on the feathers.

雅各布斯需要下面的一些东西:湿木,大多是白色的雪松,一份要雕刻的鸟类详细资料；而细心雕刻赋予其看起来像羽毛形状一样,然后就到了他最喜欢的部分—磨光。在这道工序之后,他就开始专注于羽毛。 

“This is the critical part, this is where you realize you got a nice bird or you wasted your time,” said Jacobs. 

“这是至关重要的部分,这个部分你能知道自己是拥有了一只很好的鸟还是你白白浪费了自己大好光阴。”雅各布斯说道。

As many as 50 slices of wood could emerge from a small block. But before the slices become feathers, Jacobs wets the wood for at least an hour.

多达50块木头薄片可能仅仅从一小块木头当中雕刻出。但是在这些薄片成为羽毛前,雅各布斯要用至少一个小时的时间浸湿它。

Once it's soaked, he begins to fan the wings and weave them. If there are enough slices, Jacobs will make a tail. Once the bird is dry, Jacobs dips it in lacquer.

一旦浸湿后,他开始进行翅膀的雕琢并进行编制组合。如果有足够的薄片,雅各布斯就会制作尾巴。而一旦鸟开始变干,雅各布斯则会将其浸在天然漆中。

Jacobs takes the birds to flea³ markets where he explains the process of making traditional fan birds and he sells each one for about $50.

雅各布斯会将这些鸟带到跳蚤市场,他在那里解释其传统的制作过程并以每只鸟大概是50美元的价格出售。

While other artists produce larger birds, flowers and figures, Jacobs sticks with small birds, mostly hummingbirds⁴. Although he's made several hundred, he's still intent on making more - making them perfect and able to fly… well almost.

就在其他艺术家制作更大的鸟、花朵和图案时,雅各布斯专注于小鸟,大多是蜂鸟的制作。尽管经他手已经诞生了几百只,但他还有意制作更多—好像要使这些鸟完美的能够翱翔天际。

1 cedar   

n.雪松，香柏(木)

参考例句：

• The cedar was about five feet high and very shapely.那棵雪松约有五尺高,风姿优美。
• She struck the snow from the branches of an old cedar with gray lichen.她把长有灰色地衣的老雪松树枝上的雪打了下来。

2 carving   

n.雕刻品，雕花

参考例句：

• All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
• He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。

3 flea   

n.跳蚤

参考例句：

• I'll put a flea in his ear if he bothers me once more.如果他再来打扰的话，我就要对他不客气了。
• Hunter has an interest in prowling around a flea market.亨特对逛跳蚤市场很感兴趣。

4 hummingbirds   

n.蜂鸟( hummingbird的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious. 蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。
• Why do hummingbirds and gorillas both have backbones? 为什么蜂鸟和大猩猩都有脊骨？