This document summarizes artist Tom Yacovella's creation of a life-sized deer sculpture using deer antlers. Over 50 years, Yacovella found over 300 shed deer antlers in the Adirondacks. Inspired by a toothpick deer sculpture he made as a teen, Yacovella decided in 2001 to use the antlers to construct a 3D sculpture of a mature white-tailed buck. After 2 months of work carefully selecting and positioning individual antlers, Yacovella completed his sculpture titled "Tribute to the White-tail".

1. photo courtesy of microsoft
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2. photos by Gale Farley
F or centuries, Native Americans have used photographing deer, he is probably thinking
deer antlers to fashion tools, to craft about them. As a youngster, he constructed the
buttons for clothing, or even to create play likeness of a whitetail buck using toothpicks and
things for their children. In modern times, those who saw it thought it was an amazing
craftsmen turn deer and elk antlers into belt creation for a person in his early teens.
buckles, knife handles, chandeliers, and a
plethora of craft items.
WHAT IS A “SHED?”
It took Utica artist Tom Yacovella years to
turn his passion for white-tailed deer and his
After the mating season in November, a
hetero-geneous collection of shed antlers into a
whitetail buck’s testosterone level decreases
one-of-a-kind work of art—but all indications are
and ultimately, its antlers fall off. This
that he’s made a lasting impression.
phenomenon of antler shedding begins as
WHITE-TAIL ENTHUSIAST
To say wildlife artist Yacovella has an interest
in deer and deer antlers would be an
understatement. Yacovella is the quintessential
outdoorsman. When he isn’t painting or
Yacovella spent two months working on the
head section alone.

3. Naturally broken antlers were used
to form the buck’s nostrils.
early as the middle of December, and by the
middle of February, almost all bucks in New
York have shed their cranial adornment. The
“sheds” lie where the bucks lost them and
while mice or other rodents may quickly
consume them, those who know where to
look can often find them.
In 1952, while hiking in the Adirondacks,
Yacovella discovered a shed deer antler. This
was the first of more than 300 he’s discovered
since then. Most people would find the
discovery of a deer antler curious at best and
continue on their way, but not Yacovella. “If
there’s one there must be more,” he reasoned,
well-used deer trails. Once he locates a good one, he
and so, every spring for more than fifty years, he
concentrates his search approximately 40-60 yards from
has searched for additional sheds.
the leeward side, where bucks are likely to travel.
Yacovella concentrates his searches in known deer
“yards”—areas where white-tails concentrate around a
IDEA IS BORN
food source in an effort to survive the harshness of win-
ter. Yacovella begins his annual search by looking for
In early 2001, Yacovella began thinking about
what to do with the massive pile of antlers he
had accumulated. He remembered the deer
sculpture he had constructed out of toothpicks
almost fifty years earlier, and the idea to sculpt a
life-sized, mature, white-tail buck using his
antlers was hatched. Yacovella usually works in
watercolors and acrylics so at first, he was
apprehensive that a three-dimensional sculpture
might prove to be overly challenging.
Nevertheless, he was determined to use his
knowledge of deer and deer anatomy, along with
his artistic ability, to create Tribute to the White-
tail©.
As he began the project, Yacovella looked at
each antler as a piece of a puzzle. To retain the
The tail and ears were created
using antlers with fine tines.
Yacovella as a teen with his
original toothpick sculpture.
New York State Conservationist, October 2005

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