Ray Miller's Root-Head Decoy

Ray Miller with Driftwood

Ray Miller lives on the Delaware River in Paulsboro, and growing up spent a lot of time on local creeks and rivers. But he carves decoys in the style of the New Jersey coast.  Based on my conversations with him, I believe that Ray chooses to work in the coastal style because he's attracted by the simple elegance of the coastal forms.  I should add here that Ray doesn't hunt ducks.  This bit of information might be relevant, because if he were to hunt, and hunt as hunters do along the western shore of New Jersey, then Ray's decoys look more like other decoys from that carving region.  

Ray Miller thus occupies an interesting position in the decoy world.  He carves decoys, but he doesn't hunt; he lives and works on the Delaware River, but he carves in the coastal style.  Ray is nevertheless deeply interested in local history, and the river is a focal point of that interest.  Ray makes regular forays along the river shore, and on the river flats at low tide, to salvage driftwood, scraps of metal, and other materials that he can adapt to his work.  With that in mind, I want to focus here on one of the artifacts Ray has produced using materials found along the river shore.

Ray Miller's Root-head Brant Decoy

Ray calls it his "root-head brant."  Ray has made only three of these decoys.  He’s sold two of them, but the third is not for sale. Ray used driftwood salvaged from the river for the head and neck of the root-head decoys -- the shape of the driftwood suggests the shape of a duck's head and neck.  Hence the name -- "root-head."  As I understand it, Ray used this wood pretty much as he found it.  He didn't do much more than sand it, attach it to a brant decoy body, and paint the head and neck to resemble that species.  The body itself was made in the usual way, from two hollowed-out blocks of Atlantic white cedar.  

Carvers often attach a weight to the bottom of their decoys, to provide stability and to balance the decoy so that it rides true in the water.  Although he doesn't hunt, Ray puts all of his decoys to this acid test -- do they float nicely? do they look good and ride well on the water? do they list to one side or roll?  Which is to say that once they're completed, all of Ray's decoys take a ride in the Delaware before they're stored or sold.  As far as Ray is concerned, the decoys he makes are "working" decoys; they can be used as hunting tools, or they can be put on a shelf for display.  But the word "working" suggests a key component of their authenticity.  

Spike weight on bottom of Root-head Decoy

Ray fixed part of an iron spike to the bottom of his root-heads.  He found these spikes embedded in pieces of timber that floated by his house. The spikes are old, were probably used in the construction of docks and piers or for some other use on the river.  The water smoothes and shapes and ages the wood, and imparts character as well as form to the root-heads.

By salvaging these materials and reconfiguring them, Ray is combining river history and local history to create a unique but recognizable artifact.  He puts history and decoys to work, blending them into a culturally significant form. You want to look at the decoy for its simple beauty, but what you can actually see is much more than might appear at first glance. It seems to me that Ray’s sensitivity to history and his commitment to locale is more deeply grounded and more productive for him than whatever stylistic decisions he might make as a carver.  River or Coast?  In this case, that choice doesn't matter quite so much. 

I should add that Ray is also a self-taught painter.  He's drawn and painted a number of lighthouses, many of them local lights, which he prints and puts up for sale, or donates for fundraisers. You can see images of the lighthouse paintings, and more images of Ray's decoys, by visiting Ray's website, woodncanvas.com.

East Point Lighthouse by Ray Miller

 

Driftwood Bird Stands

Whatever their particular style, Ray Miller's decoys are a form of river art.  They are inspired by the river and by the river's role in shaping the history and culture of the area where Ray lives and works.  As demonstrated here, some of Ray's decoys are literally crafted out of materials found along the river shore and on the tidal flats.  In addition, many of Ray's bird carvings, especially his decorative birds, are mounted on stands fashioned from driftwood that comes out of the river.  The impulse to make use of these materials is not merely decorative.  It's a resolutely historical decision, fed by Ray's historical awareness and by his special brand of cultural practice.   

As Ray Miller noted in an interview,  “You know, it's nice that people are interested in what we're doing.  And you know, what's happening out along the river, and the history of what's been in the area, and up and down the river here.  And what I'm doing with decoys.  And, what, you know, what me and a lot of other people are doing with decoys.  It's just keeping the history alive.  It's all part of the region's history.  And, we're part of it.  And, as time goes on, we hope there's others to step in and do what we're doing.”