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MODERN KNAPPED
ANIMAL ART
BY DON WILCOX
NORTH AMERICA
PRESENT DAY

PAGE 1 OF 1 PAGES
COPYRIGHT MAY 31, 2013 PETER A. BOSTROM
Don Wilcox with some of his animal art figures.
DON WILCOX AND SOME OF HIS ANIMAL ART FORMS

Abstract image of Don Wilcox's animal art.

ABSTRACT
MODERN KNAPPED ANIMAL ART
NORTH AMERICA

PRESENT DAY

    This article illustrates and describes several examples of modern flint knapped animal art forms that were made by Tennessee knapper Don Wilcox. The "animals" pictured in this report represent a small sampling of Don's excellent flint-work. The animal figures used in this article belong to Tony Podkanowicz who's been collecting them for several years. They illustrate excellent craftsmanship, a good eye for art, and they also represent a general trend towards more innovative and exotic flint knapped art  forms.

Animal art made by Don Wilcox.

    "I live in north Tennessee, I live on the Tennessee River with my wife Tereena, I have been making primitive tools and Weapons since the age of 10." Don Wilcox, "Knapperdon," flintknappers.com.
    "Don has been a great artist all these years, He has been knapping for the last 19 years and hunting relics for the last 56 years---. Don is a great person."------2013, Tereena Wilcox, Personal Communication.
    "(years ago) I made bows and arrows using authentic points until I later learned to make them. They were good enough to take out chickens, rabbits and squirrels."------2013, Don Wilcox, "Personal Communication."
    "A few knappers make "eccentrics," that is, non-point forms, which usually have the edges flaked with elaborate notches, barbs, or even silhouettes of heads or animals."
------2004, John C. Whittaker, "American Flintknappers, Stone Age Art In The Age Of Computers" p. 239.
    
"(Mayan culture) Eccentric flints are chipped flint objects of unusual, essentially non-utilitarian forms, including such things as rings, or circles, crescents, S-shaped figures and various life-forms (such as humans, bats, jaguars, dogs, scorpions and centipedes)."----1972, Gordon R. Willey, "Eccentrics," The Artifacts Of Altar De Sacrificios, p. 181.
    "Around 56 bifacially worked flint animals (
such as hippopotamus & ibex) are known. As over half the examples known are attributable to Predynastic Hierakonpolis (Egypt)"---------1999, Carolyn Anne Graves-Brown, (from doctorate thesis, reference Hendrickx) "The Ideological Significance Of Flint In Dynastic Egypt, Vol. 1," p. 485.
    "(in Predynastic Egypt)---clay was molded into animal figurines and little erratically shaped flints were kept, possibly as amulets."--------1984, Michael A Hoffman, "Egypt Before The Pharaohs, The Prehistoric Foundations Of Egyptian Civilization," p. 154.

Abstract image, Don Wilcox animal art.
 
MODERN-MADE ANIMAL ART
NORTH AMERICA

PRESENT DAY

     Don Wilcox began experimenting with flintknapping at the age of 10 and from that point on its been a life-long interest. He began making bows and arrows at an early age and tipped his arrows with old points. But it wasn't long before he could make his own. He learned basic flint knapping on his own by studying the bits and pieces of flint he found in cultivated fields. It took about three years to learn flint knapping when he later began doing it in a more serious way. His wife, Tereena, says that Don's first thought of making animal forms was at a Pow-Wow at Tuscumbia, Alabama when a friend asked him, "have you ever tried to make animal shapes?"

Dog effigy made by Don Wilcox.
PHOTO CREDIT ART GERBER----COMPUTER ALTERED BY PETE BOSTROM
DOG
BY DON WILCOX

    This dog looks as if it's about to catch a stick in its mouth, in this computer altered landscape. Don thought it was probably made of a white form of Arkansas Novaculite.

     Among the flint knapping community Don goes by the handle "Knapperdon." He says he was able to learn more about the subject  when he discovered knap-ins and could see what types of tools, and techniques other knappers were using. Don uses copper tools but he can also work with the more traditional tools, like the ones made of antler.

Eagle effigies made by Don Wilcox.
PHOTO CREDIT ART GERBER----COMPUTER ALTERED BY PETE BOSTROM
EAGLES
BY DON WILCOX

      Both of these eagles are well done. They illustrate a high level of flint knapping skill and artistic ability. Their forms are complex and impressive to look at. The lower example is especially nice. Don was able to enhance the finished piece by highlighting the fish and beak with the lighter colored stone. The upper eagle is made of semi-translucent orange Brazilian agate and the lower eagle is made of a variety of stone that is referred to as Polish chocolate flint.

      Don considers himself to be a primitive artist. He bases his art on wildlife and Native Americans and that influence may come from his ancestry. Both he and his wife Tereena are descendants of Native American Indians.

Bison effigies made by Don Wilcox.
PHOTO CREDIT ART GERBER----COMPUTER ALTERED BY PETE BOSTROM
BUFFALO
BY DON WILCOX

    Don says he began making buffalo art figures early on. These are good representative examples. The two upper buffalo were made from what Don calls Painted Buffalo chert from Tennessee. The lower buffalo is made of white Arkansas Novaculite.

     Don says that he likes to make unique pieces that are pleasing to gaze upon and study. Each one of his animal forms are certainly different and unique in that way.

Dolphin effigies made by Don Wilcox.
PHOTO CREDIT ART GERBER----COMPUTER ALTERED BY PETE BOSTROM
BOTTLENOSE DOLPHINS
BY DON WILCOX

    These pieces have very good pleasing forms. Their long snouts give them away as representing bottlenose dolphins. The colorful stone greatly enhances their appearance. They were made from semi-translucent white, yellow, red and orange Brazilian agate.

    Don is a carver of stone, antler, wood and bone. But his main interest is in stone and more specifically in flaked stone. Besides his animal & nature figures he also makes a wide variety of both traditional and "exotic art" points. He has made everything from Clovis and Pinetree points to Moustache Simpsons.

Bear effigies made by Don Wilcox.
PHOTO CREDIT ART GERBER----COMPUTER ALTERED BY PETE BOSTROM
BEARS
BY DON WILCOX

    Bears are one of the early animal forms that Don made. He says he liked making bears and buffalo. These are good representative examples of his bear figures.

    Don has used all types of chert, Jasper, and agate for his flint knapped animal art. He has used the more common forms of stone, like Dover, Knife River, Arkansas Novaculite and Brazilian Agate. But he's also used more rare forms, like Horse Creek or a particularly rare type he calls Painted Buffalo that outcrops in Tennessee.

Lizard effigy made by Don Wilcox.
PHOTO CREDIT ART GERBER----COMPUTER ALTERED BY PETE BOSTROM
LIZARD
BY DON WILCOX

     Don has made some fairly complicated art forms in flaked stone. This lizard would be one of them. It's an impressive piece.

    Don Wilcox has probably made as many or more "quality" animal forms than any other modern knapper. Early on, he liked to make bears and buffalo. But in recent years he's made a wide variety of animal forms, like snakes, lizards, squirrels, horses, eagles, dogs, dolphins, turtles, panthers, seahorses, stingrays, frogs, butterflies, deer, kangaroos, and dragons. The largest "animal" he's made so far was a black panther that measured 6 inches (15.2 cm) long and 2 inches (5.1 cm) wide.

Snake effigies made by Don Wilcox.
PHOTO CREDIT ART GERBER----COMPUTER ALTERED BY PETE BOSTROM
SNAKES
BY DON WILCOX

     Both of these snakes have highly recurved edges that conveys the image of the snake very well. Both have a diamond shaped head and the lower snake has a rattle on its tail. The upper snake is made of Brazilian agate and the lower snake is made of Dover chert.

     Flint knapped animal art is not unique, only to modern flint knappers. The Mayan culture produced large numbers of natural looking and stylized forms of scorpions, centipedes and bats. Also, during the Predynastic period in Egypt, craftsmen produced animals in the form of ibex and hippopotamus. The ancient forms relate to important cultural ideas. The modern forms are works of art.

Turtle effigies made by Don Wilcox.
PHOTO CREDIT ART GERBER----COMPUTER ALTERED BY PETE BOSTROM
TURTLES
BY DON WILCOX

    All of Don's animal figures are easy to identify. These are obviously overhead views of turtles, complete with head, feet, claws and tail. The green turtle is made of fancy Jasper from India and the one on the right is made of Painted Buffalo chert from Tennessee.

    Don sells most of his knapped animal art. But he and his wife has wisely kept some of his better pieces. It's amazing how the art of flint knapping keeps evolving and moving in different directions. No one in the days of "gray ghosts" and McCormick's Folsom's would ever have imagined that so many people would become so deeply involved in flint knapping. Don Wilcox's knapped animal art represents another high point in this unique form of art.

"REFERENCES"

2013, flintknappers.com, "Knapperdon,"
2013
, carverscorner.com, "Don Stone Man."
2004
, Whittaker, John C., "American Flintknappers, Stone Age Art In The Age Of Computers" p. 240.
1999, Graves-Brown, Carolyn Anne, (from doctorate thesis, reference Hendrickx) "The Ideological Significance Of Flint In Dynastic Egypt, Vol. 1," p. 485.
1984, Hoffman, Michael A, "Egypt Before The Pharaohs, The Prehistoric Foundations Of Egyptian Civilization," p. 154.
1972, Willey, Gordon R., "Eccentrics," The Artifacts Of Altar De Sacrificios, p. 181.
Personal Communication, Don Wilcox.
Personal Communication, Tereena Wilcox.
Personal Communication, Tony Podkanowicz

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