Biography
|
Roderick (Rod) Joseph Deon was born on July 2, 1921 in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. Rod’s passion for carving began in his boyhood years growing up in the 1920’s outside of Boston, Massachusetts, USA, when his first attempts were performed on bars on Ivory soap.
Returning to Nova Scotia in 1930, Rod continued woodcarving throughout his teens, and in 1940, his carving Roy Rogers and Trigger won his first prize at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto, Ontario. In 1942, Rod joined the Canadian Navy and served aboard the destroyer HMCS Ottawa H31, finishing his service as a Chief Petty Officer with the Engineer’s Branch. His ship was on convoy duty in the North Atlantic and took part in the Normandy Invasion (D-Day) in 1944. The Ottawa was credited with three U-boat sinkings in that same year. (In June of 2019, Rod had the privilege of joining the Canadian delegation in France for the 75th anniversary of the D-Day operation.) After the war, Rod went into the Construction Industry made a permanent move to Toronto in 1950. Over the years in Toronto, Rod continued to upgrade his education in engineering, drawing, design and carving while working as a Construction Superintendent for over 40 years. Throughout this time, Rod continued to hone his carving skills in his spare time. After his “retirement” at age 70, woodcarving changed from Rod’s hobby to his full-time occupation. The excellence and artistry of his work has attracted many admirers and clients, including the Walt Disney Corporation, Grant Forest Products Corporation, Seagram’s, the Structural Board Association, and many others. Rod has also received numerous provincial and national awards for his work. Rod’s specialty is Canadian Wildlife, especially the Bull Moose. A signature method employed in many of Rod’s carvings is the use of different woods within a single work to produce differences in colour, rather than the use of paint. Other highlights from Rod’s carving career have included a carving of Queen Elizabeth at her coronation (for which Rod received from Prince Charles a pair of cufflinks from the Royal Yacht Britannia); a carving of the CNE gates on the Canadian Maple Leaf Heritage Tree for the City of Toronto; many customized commissions; and the world’s largest carving in oriented strand board (OSB) - a magnificent 5 x 9-foot mural depicting the history of the logging industry (commissioned by the Grant Forest Products Corporation). In addition to his work as an artist, Rod also generously shares his time as a carving teacher for students that have ranged from school-aged children to amateur carvers of all ages. Now 102, Rod retired from carving at age 100 and lives at home with his daughter and her family in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. |