Syracuse Man Takes Birdhouse Building To New Level
Syracuse Man Takes Birdhouse Building To New Level
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
Syracuse Man Takes Birdhouse Building To New Level
If James Janda was a bird, the birdhouses he builds would be the homes he’d want to live in.
Depending on the birdhouse, there’s rooms for up to four birds to build their nests in. Some having winding stairs, while one he built – that he’s dubbed the “castle” – has a drawbridge.
They’re made with skid wood, drift wood, moss, mushrooms and whatever other natural items he finds in the woods and lake areas. He treats them with NeverWet so they can sit out in the elements. The birdhouses are mounted on a board so when they’re done they can be mounted on a tree or house if the buyer wants.
“I find one piece of wood I like, and then I build (the birdhouse) off of that,” the 42–year–old Syracuse resident said during an interview Monday afternoon at his parents’ Warsaw home.
He doesn’t start out with a plan or a blueprint. “Whatever it tells me to do, I do to it,” the artist said.
The Warsaw graduate didn’t set out to build elaborate birdhouses. He loves the outdoors, nature, art and works in building trades, and decided to combine all of those into one hobby, that he hopes could become a lucrative market for him.
“I’ve been doing this a couple of years now. I just woke up one day and thought I was going to build birdhouses,” he said.
One birdhouse may take him anywhere from 25 to 40 hours to complete over the course of a week.
He said his art doesn’t come from inside his body but “comes completely from somewhere else. It’s almost otherworldly and I don’t know if other artists feel that way.”
The birdhouses aren’t Janda’s only artistic endeavors. He also paints, refurbishes furniture, wrote a children’s book, makes prize–winning Halloween costumes and does magic. He’s been doing magic for about 20 years or so, recently beginning to do it professionally up in Elkhart. He also juggles. “I have multiple interests in the arts,” he said.
“If I don’t do this stuff, I’d go crazy. It’s kind of therapy for me. I put on music and go into the garage and look at the piles of stuff and just wait for them to start talking. It helps rejuvenate my batteries. I live in a fantasy world. A lot of people don’t see it, but I do,” Janda explained
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When crafting the birdhouses, which can be several feet tall when completed, he doesn’t measure at all, he just eyeballs it. And he generally uses only three tools – a pin nailer, a power screwdriver and an oscillating saw. He sticks it all together with glue and other adhesives.
Before he added mushrooms to a birdhouse for the first time, he had them in a bucket for over three months. He wasn’t sure how to attach them and get them to stay as there were no instructions online anywhere on how to add mushrooms to a birdhouse. But he found a way.
“I just want them all to be whimsical and organic. I just want it to be natural,” he said.
Looking at them, one might be reminded of a fantasy world like from “The Lord of the Rings.” That’s not a surprise as Janda loves fantasy.
So far, he’s completed 10 birdhouses and has several more in the process. Four are available for sale currently.
Janda hasn’t been able to find anything like his birdhouses he’s building online so he isn’t sure where his market is as far as pricing. He has two for sale at The Gift Shop at Wawasee, 200 E. Pickwick Drive, Syracuse. One is available for $350, while the other is $400.
“Everyone who sees them asks if I’m selling them,” he said. “I’m just waiting to see where the market lands.”
Janda wouldn’t have any problem doing custom work either.
“I’d love to go to a house and check out the area and see what they want. I’d like to talk to the person and get inspiration from them. It opens up a lot of ideas in my head if I can see where it’ll sit. I’d like to do custom work. I really want to,” he said.
“I’ve gotten a positive response from everyone who sees them. It’s overwhelming, it really is,” he said.
His girlfriend, Sally Pierpont, said Janda isn’t the kind of guy to brag about his work and he gets shy when people compliment his art. But the feedback he’s gotten from his birdhouses has opened him up a bit to accepting the great reaction from people about his work. She said he’s become more confident about his projects and proud of them, but without being cocky.
Janda said, “I decided I’m actually doing something pretty cool and people like what I’m doing. It’s nice to see smiles on people’s faces when they see them.”
For inquiries, email Janda at monkeybonezcreations@gmail.com or text him at 574–526–1150.
