DEBORAH CORRAO / L’Observateur / July 17, 1999

If you walk along the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Rose, you mightcome upon Fred Guidry collecting driftwood. At home, he turns thedriftwood into works of art.

Guidry was looking for something to fill his time after retiring when a friend and neighbor introduced him to woodcarving.

“He showed me some of the ducks he carved,” Guidry, 67, says. “I likedthem, so I carved one and found out I enjoyed it.”That was 11 years ago.

Guidry, who is retired from the American Can Co. in New Orleans, doesn’tjust carve for fun anymore. He demonstrates his skills at area festivalsand art shows sponsored by the Louisiana Wildfowl Carvers and Collectors Guild.

Guidry’s first project was a simple duck carved from cypress and polished to a glossy sheen.

“I started catching on by the time I had carved three or four,” he says.

Now he not only carves duck decoys but has expanded his work to include fish, birds and pirogues.

He took home first place in the 1990 Louisiana Wildfowl Carvers show for his rendition of a sac-au-lait and has won other awards for carvings of fish.

Guidry has honed his skills mainly from watching other carvers at work, but he says he also relies on books he’s bought over the years for ideas.

A native of Breaux Bridge who moved to the River Parishes almost 50 years ago, Guidry and wife Lily have four children, five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Lily Guidry, an artist in her own right, paints swamp scenes and flowers that are indigenous to south Louisiana.

She found she had less time to devote to her hobby since the arrival of grandchildren but regularly assists her husband with some of his projects, mostly sanding down his rough carving in preparation for the more intricate carving and burning he does before painting his life-like creations.

Guidry was invited to demonstrate woodcarving at the recent 25th anniversary celebration in the town of Ponchatoula. He also regularlydisplays his work at the annual Strawberry Festival in Ponchatoula and at the Crawfish Festival in his hometown.

He is entering the upcoming LWCCG show on Aug. 14 and 15 at the AlarioCenter in Westwego, where guild members as well as the general public are able to view the work of local artists or purchase carvings for private collections.

While Guidry enjoys the festivals and shows, he is most happy in his sunroom “studio” at home amid his collection of knives, burners, paints and brushes.

“I carve to relax,” he says. “I forget all my troubles when I’m carving.”Once in a while Guidry confesses he gets frustrated.

“Sometimes you can’t get the carving like you want it,” he says. “I justwalk away when I’m frustrated. I leave it and come back later. Usually Ican get it right when you come back to it.”In their spare time, the Guidry’s enjoy gardening. In their yard Lily growsflowers and Fred is in charge of fruits and vegetables, tending satsuma, grapefruit, fig and pear trees.

Together they camp in Louisiana’s state parks. Fred especially enjoystrips to Cocodrie where he fishes and observes the wildlife that he carves.

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