In was in his genes, but it took some time to surface. Although other family members developed a name among the elite in the woodcarving world, Ames Belote said he was not interested.
Belote, an avid outdoorsman, said he would rather enjoy wildlife in its natural surroundings than sit for hours whittling and painting it. He grew up around his father’s and brother’s duck carvings, but had no desire to pursue the family art.
That all changed on a dare, or joke as he calls it, when his father, Richard, and brother, Scott, jokingly told him since he wasn’t interested in carving ducks, he should take up fish carving. At the time, there was a fish-carving division at a Ward Foundation show in Ocean City, Md.
Belote said no one thought he would take on the challenge, but he did, and in 1998 won an honorable mention for a carving of a white perch at the Ocean City show.
No one would have guessed that 10 years later, the guy with no interest in carving would become the second-best carver in the United States and Canada in 2008 in the International Waterfowl and Fish Carving Association (IWFCA).
Looking back on that first carving, Belote says it was crude and amateurish. “But, it served as an incentive for me to try a little harder,” he said.
Belote, who lives with his wife, Clare, off Route 9 between Lewes and Georgetown, was soon deeply involved in carving, setting up a workshop in a corner of his large garage. He is one of the few fish carvers in the region.
Within three years, he brought home his first blue ribbon from the Ocean City show, and it wasn’t long before he was winning ribbons and best-of-show awards at other shows. Over the past few years he has become one of the top novice carvers in North America.
In 2010 he will have to move up to the intermediate division. The Belote family room contains two large trophy cases filled to overflowing with his carvings of sunfish and perch and dozens upon dozens of ribbons and plaques.
True to nature
Although he has refined his art over the years, Belote has remained true to nature. Many of his carvings are exact replicas of fish he has caught, traced on paper, photographed and released.
He transports some fish to his backyard pond to use as future models.
He takes painstaking efforts to make his fish carvings as lifelike as possible, right down to the colors, spots and exact number of fins. “Most of what I’ve learned has been through trial and error. I was fortunate enough to be around it, and my dad and brother helped me some,” he said.
But carving is an art you have to learn by doing.
He said the more lifelike the carving, the higher the judge’s marks. “You are judged by the real fish,” he said.
He spends from 150 to 200 hours on each carving, using southern tupelo wood for the bodies and dogwood for the fins. He may work on a carving for 40 or 50 hours and then decide he doesn’t like the way the body is curved and put it aside.
Although he has power tools, he rarely uses them. “I like to feel the wood,” he said.
There is no doubt carving is in the Belote family genes. Granddaughter Samantha Vest, 11, of Georgetown has been carving since she was 4 years old and has already won several ribbons and best-of-show awards.
Grandson Jeremy, 3, is starting to show an interest in carving as well.
They are the children of the Belote’s daughter, Amy.
Belote is trying to get more interest in the art. He has banded with several other carvers to stage an IWFCA-sanctioned show at Delaware Tech in Georgetown in 2010. He is also preparing for a show of his work at the Milton Library.
His brother will teach a carving class at the Ward Foundation Museum in Salisbury, Md.
His new project is to carve all of the Delaware freshwater fish; next on the list is a blackbanded sunfish.
Belote is a building contractor, owns Atlantic Restorations and worked on tugboats along the East Coast and in the Caribbean for more than 20 years.
He moved to the area as a youngster in the late 1960s from Willis Wharf, Va., when his father was transferred to pilot the first of the Cape May-Lewes Ferry fleet.
He said some of his first and fondest childhood memories involve fishing with his father.
List of awards, ribbons growing for local carver
Although his list of awards and ribbons is long, Ames Belote is particularly proud of winning best of show and the people’s choice awards at a show in South Lake, Va., best of show and second best of show at a show in Alberta, Canada, and a first and second in category and second best of show for a show in California – all in 2008.
This year, for a new carving of a rainbow trout, he won first in the division and best of show at a show in White Stone, Va., and for the same fish won a first and second best in show at a show in Havre de Grace, Md.
He has three shows left this year in Sacramento, Calif., Vancouver, Wash., and Alberta, Canada.
He ships carvings to the shows on the West Coast and Canada and does not appear in person.
His 2008 international carving second-place award almost didn’t happen because of a Canadian customs issue. He shipped carvings to the Alberta show in 2008, but the box was held up in customs three days before the show opening. “They claimed a duty was owed on it, but I was not there to pay it,” he said.
Fortunately, the show organizer, Keith Levoir, drove five hours to pay the duty and retrieve the box in time for the show. It’s the show where he won several awards, picking up valuable points in the carver of the year competition.
