Christopher Poplin photograph by Revival Creatives

As chain saw carver Christopher Poplin slices a corner from a block of Douglas fir, splinters fan out from the wood like a bird ruffling its feathers. The Mocksville artist behind Busy Wren Creations makes a precise incision into the top of the piece, the start of a cardinal’s signature crown. With each cut, the chain saw purrs, and the shape of our state bird becomes more prominent. 

After sanding and painting the birds their signature red, Poplin ships them across North Carolina and the country, often as gifts accompanied by notes from loved ones. When he started selling cardinals last winter, his online messages began filling with stories of longing, heartbreak, and hope. As the messages multiplied, Poplin wondered why so many people wanted cardinals. No one had ever told him about the bird’s lore, about what a visit from a cardinal can represent. “I’m not the most sentimental of people, and it just didn’t click with me for a while,” he admits. (Click here to read more about this NC Icon.)

Almost a year ago, Poplin carved his first cardinal to test his skills and experiment with color. “The first one I carved was awful,” he says. “I gave it to my Nana, who absolutely adores it and thinks it’s completely perfect.”

Poplin’s grandmother is a painter and avid birder who’s assigned each family member an avian-inspired pet name. “She’s always called me a busy wren because I’ve never been able to sit still,” Poplin says.

He and his grandmother aren’t the only artists in the family — his grandfather Ken Curtiss is a glassblower, known for his delicate hummingbirds. Poplin was gifted a Swiss Army knife at 7 years old, and by age 12, he was selling hand-carved walking sticks at the craft booth where Curtiss — notably featured as one of “Roy’s Folks” on the popular North Carolina television series — sold his work. Although Poplin was a talented young carver, he pursued a traditional career in finance for about six years before finally deciding to follow his passion full-time in 2019.

Poplin carefully carves each cardinal out of a solid piece of kiln-dried Douglas fir, then sands, paints, and seals it. photograph by Revival Creatives

Cardinals are among the smallest of his nature-inspired creations, and as he worked on these fir flocks, he found himself pouring a great deal of attention and care into every detail. “As an artist, you like to think that you’re making things that people can relate to and that they find beauty in,” he says, “but the fact that they can find even deeper meaning in [my work] is really special.”

Thinking of these birds that have become a staple in his repertoire, Poplin is reminded of his own loved ones. He’s just moved his wife and three children to the land where he was raised, about 90 acres in rural Mocksville. To Poplin, it feels like so long ago that he roamed this land as a child and visited his great-grandmother, who has since died, every morning before catching the bus to kindergarten. He’d sprinkle birdseed in front of her house and join her inside for the show.

“I can imagine that window,” he says, “sitting in front of the radiator heater with my great-grandma and watching cardinals eat birdseed in the snow.” It feels like so long ago, even the presence of the memory itself surprises him. “I lied,” he says, his voice wavering slightly. “I guess I am sentimental.”

To learn more about Busy Wren Creations, visit facebook.com/busywrencreations.