Long Time Newport Surgeon, Dr. James Maas, Comes Out of Retirement – Well, Sort Of

Dr. James Maas with his miniature, lifelike carving of a wild turkey that earned him the “Best of Show” at Ward Museum's World Carving Championships in Ocean City, Maryland in April, 2006.

When Dr. James Maas retired as an orthopedic surgeon in 2003 he figured he’d do some of the typical things that new retirees do – relax, travel and spend more time with his family. But he is now coming out of retirement, well kind of, not to perform surgeries, but to teach bird carving.
Dr. Maas is looking for people who wish to learn the fine art of bird carving. He plans to begin carving classes on September 4. The fee, which includes the use of supplies and equipment for introductory lessons, is $25 an hour.
“There’s something about being able to create something nice with your hands- a sense of accomplishment that I’d like others to experience,” Dr. Maas explained. “The art form is a small one and largely the domain of the older craftsman. I’d like to see it widened to include more and younger people.” Since his retirement, Dr. Maas has become one of the best bird carvers in the world.
“It’s hard to believe that I’m considered a world class carver,” he said.
His rapid climb onto the world stage of bird carving is almost unheard of. In addition to his world ranking, his art work has been on display at many shows and other venues throughout New England and Quebec.
Dr. Maas is quite familiar to the people of Orleans County, not as a carver, but as an orthopedic surgeon. He owned a private orthopedic surgery practice from 1978 until his retirement in 2003. His wife, Billie, worked alongside him. Dr. Maas was the man who many area people came to rely on to fix their broken bones, worn joints, and damaged tendons and muscles.
The Morgan man’s carving career began in 1998 when a bird attracted his eye – not just any bird, but a professionally carved, wooden bird that was so realistic the doctor couldn’t distinguish it from the real thing. So, fascinated by this art form, the accomplished surgeon decided to try his hand at it. His work quickly attracted the attention of carvers from around the world.
Looking back to the day he saw that carved bird in the lobby of the Equinox Hotel in Manchester, Vermont, Dr. Maas said it’s difficult to believe the path his carving career has taken. He said the bird so intrigued him because it looked so lifelike that it was indistinguishable from a living, breathing bird. He bought a book written by Floyd Scholz, the man who carved the bird. At the end of the book were details about how to carve a bird.
“I looked at it and said, ‘I can do that’”, Dr. Maas said. He bought the appropriate tools and began carving his own bird, starting with only a block of Tupelo wood, a kind of swamp wood found in the Deep South.
He later studied under Mr. Scholz at his training institute. In addition to study there, he has also recently studied under Larry Barth, another Master Carver who has won 1st place in the Ward Museum World Championships six times in recent history. Dr. Maas was also recently published in the new Denny Roger’s book, The Illustrated Birds of Prey.

When many people think of carving, they think about carving with a knife. For the most part, that isn’t what modern carving is all about. Dr. Maas and other carvers typically carve their artwork with a high-speed drill like device. Each bird takes countless hours to complete. In addition to the carving, each bird requires about 20 coats of paint to make the feathering look realistic. To learn register for carving lessons contact Dr. Maas at (802) 895-4817 or email him at jim@birdsinwood.com . Also check out www.birdsinwood.com.

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