www.thepapersonline.com
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
Serving Kosciusko County and parts of Elkhart, Marshall & Noble Counties
Know Your Neighbor ................... 2➤ Good Neighbors .............. 4
Vol. 52, No. 17
Milford (574) 658-4111 • Warsaw (574) 269-2932 • Syracuse (574) 457-3666
114 W. Market, Warsaw, Indiana 46580
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James Janda takes birdhouses to a whole new level 7H[W DQG SKRWRV %\ /$85(1 =(8*1(5 (GLWRU James Janda has always loved art. In high school, he remained in the same classroom for the first three periods of the school day since they were all art classes. While visiting his parents, the Warsaw native came across “Enchanted Woodland Birdhouses,” a book that sparked his inspiration. “I decided I would start making birdhouses,” he said. “I went from this person’s (the book author’s) ideas to my own. … With the birdhouses, I get to use every art supply, I get to use my own imagination.” Before he stumbled into making birdhouses, Janda was making furniture by upcycling items such as parts of an old
piano he turned into a side table. In addition to a wide variety of art supplies, Janda’s birdhouses are also constructed with items he finds in nature while kayaking or hiking in the woods and items friends have sent him. Janda has quite a presence in Instagram, and many followers, who are artists themselves, have become friends. These friends have sent him things to incorporate into his birdhouses. He said he tries to find really cool things from nature. “I’ll take it home with me and three or four months later, I’ll use it. I see the potential in things people get rid of.” When he first started, he did a lot of experimenting to figure out how to create what he wanted. Some of his tricks include using spray foam adhesive when using bark for roofs or other parts of the birdhouse. The spray foam fills in the gaps naturally occurring in the bark and holds it in place. Another trick he discovered is using
clear Flex Seal to weatherproof his birdhouses. Prior to discovering Flex Seal, Janda was using Thompson Weather Seal, but has discovered the Flex Seal works better for his art. He tries to make his birdhouses look as realistic as possible, but there is an element of fantasy in all of them. One commissioned piece he recently finished features a tiki hut on a beach with a pirate ship sinking after hitting “rocks” on the shore made of coral. When working on a birdhouse, he blends all the hardware and the openings, where someone can clean out the birdhouse at the end of the season, into the background. “I hide all my hardware. I don’t want people to see how what’s holding it all together,” he said. He waits until he sells the birdhouse to drill the holes for the birds. Janda works second shift, so shortly after he gets home at 11 p.m. he’s doing art “until the sun comes up.” Now he would like to write a book about how he builds
his birdhouses. “That’s on my goal list. I have plenty to write about.” Because his birdhouses are so elaborate, he recommends they be installed on a 4-inch-by-4-inch fence post topper. His next goal is to start taking his work to local art festivals. Janda’s biggest piece is a castle he has on display in his home. It took him three years to complete and he intends to use it as his “billboard” when he goes to art festivals. Janda currently builds birdhouses on commission. He explained he does give the client a say in color and design of the birdhouse, but requests he be given full artistic control on the piece. One thing Janda does like to do with commissioned pieces is put something personal about the client in the piece, such as featuring the person’s zodiac sign. To find Janda on Instagram, look for The Birdhouse Magician. He can also be at facebook.com/james.janda.798.