PEI

The symbols of Prince Edward Island, its provincial bird, the blue jay and its tree, the red oak cover the hand-carved map of PEI in this linocut. The block was inked 'à la poupée' (with different colours, reds, blues and black, in different areas) and printed by hand on lovely Japanese kozo (or mulberry) paper. Each print is 23.5 cm by 31.8 cm (9.25" by 12.5"). The print is one of a variable edition of eight.

So, I've only got NWT to go! RJH, like a good Maritimer advocated for PEI to be printed before Nunavut, but I was really concerned about how to fit an animal into the small shape of the province... and no, increasing the scale of the island wasn't the answer, since the relative scales matter. But, in the end, it wasn't too hard... the real trick was conceiving of how much of each the blue jay and the red oak were needed in order to be recognized. Luckily, oaks are perhaps most easily recognized by their leaves. I could have gone for a less contrasting colour scheme, but perhaps inspired by the name 'red oak' I portrayed the tree in autumn.

Newfoundland and Labrador linocut

The symbols of Newfoundland and Labrador, its provincial bird the Atlantic puffin and flower the purple pitcher plant cover the hand-carved map of The Rock (and Labrador). The block was inked 'à la poupée' (with different colours, black, orange, lime and burgundy, in different areas) and printed by hand on lovely Japanese kozo (or mulberry) paper. Each print is 23.5 cm by 31.8 cm (9.25" by 12.5"). The print is one of a variable edition of eight.

This linocut was no mean feat! I notice the remaining provinces and territories all have coastlines and islands. I pointed out the challenge of carving the irregular shape of Newfoundland and Labrador to my family. My brother "helpfully" pointed out that there were two rectilinear sections of the border of Labrador... but I'd like to see him cave fractal coastlines, in reverse.

My previous puffin linocut has proven popular. A couple of customers have shared their inspiration for buying the print, and each of them wrote of travelling to the coasts of England and Wales. It's funny for me, since I associate the puffin so strongly with Newfoundland (where, apparently 95% of North American Atlantic puffics come to bred).

I also notice that Newfoundland and Labrador is the only province to have selected a carnivorous plant as its floral emblem.

Nova Scotia

I've made another in my provincial series. The shape of Nova Scotia is covered with its provincial symbols: the osprey and the mayflower. The block was inked 'à la poupée' (with different colours, green, pinks, yellow and gray-brown, in different areas) and printed by hand on lovely Japanese kozo (or mulberry) paper. Each print is 23.5 cm by 31.8 cm (9.25" by 12.5"). The print is one of a variable edition of eight.

This print was troublesome for me. Firstly, I had the opposite issue as with Saskatchewan. As all schoolchildren know Saskatchewan is the hardest to spell, easiest to draw. I mean, it's basically a rectangle. Sure, Canada is so large that you can see the small-circle curvature fo the latitudes marking the north and south boundaries, and there's been a correction to the original purely rectalinear area, and there are some notable lakes, but basically, its shape is so simple that the viewer might not recognize it was a map. Nova Scotia and for that matter, the remaining Maritime provinces, PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador are so irregularly shaped that it's a challenge to avoid having the shape of the map dominate the design. How was I to squish an Osprey into that space, unless I incresed the scale, or, my solution, I did not attempt to show the entire animal.

Lastly, the inks themselves gave me trouble. Inking 'à la poupée' is an acquired skill, but I think that the other trouble was the dryness of the air. It's pretty cold out there and no amount of ink retarder seemed able to keep my inks nice and viscous today. But, here we are. Province print number 8 with two more provinces and three territories to go.

I was tempted to sneak the Bluenose in there, but that would just confuse matters.

Maybe it's appropriate to make a Nova Scotia print on Robbie Burns Day.

New Brunswick, Black-capped Chickadee and Balsam Fir

The symbols of New Brunswick, its provincial bird, the black-capped chickadee and its tree, the balsam fir cover the hand-carved map of New Brunswick in this linocut. The block was inked 'à la poupée' (with different colours, black, gold and green, in different areas) and printed by hand on lovely Japanese kozo (or mulberry) paper. Each print is 21.1 cm by 20.3 cm (8.3" by 8"). The print is one of an edition of twelve.

The acrobatic, but rather tame chickadee, with its distinctive black cap, has long been one of my favorites. It's the only bird I can persuade to reply to me; it will actually answer when I cry, "Chickadee-dee-dee!" The balsam fir (Abies balsamea) is also distinctive, with narrow, flat needles are which shiny dark green above and white below and it grows large pine cones. It is native to most of eastern and central Canada and much of the northeastern US. It makes an excellent Christmas tree. Every visit to the province leaves the impression of vast, dense, forest, filled with wildlife, so covering the entire province with the depiction of a tree seemed apt.

I've had the great priviledge of having seen much of this country and having travelled from coast to coast. (I am still hoping to visit the third coast). I've visited New Brunswick several times, coming down from Québec, up from Maine or west from Nova Scotia. I've even spent a couple of frosty weeks sailing in the misleadingly-named Baie des Chaleurs. At least in October, it was anything but warm. The province is the original home of my RJH and his family, so I know I will return time and again. (In fact, I made this as his Christmas gift, but the rest of the edition can be found in my shop).

Digby to Saint John

After we left Lunenberg, we took some of the smaller roads west across Nova Scotia to Digby, through the woods, basically, with the occasional farm. Suddenly, the coast was visible.




It was beautiful and sunny for our ferry crossing to New Brunswick.






I joked that the Irvings want people to know who owns the province as soon as they arrive in Saint John.



See the tidal bore? This is the Bay of Fundy, after all, with some of the most extreme tides in the world.



This is Patridge Island in Saint John harbour. It served as North America's first medical quarantine for immigrants arriving by boat from Europe, from 1785 to 1942.



This is Saint John.



The prow of the ferry retracts.



After we came ashore, we drove to the more-or-less hidden attraction of Reversing Falls. Though this natural resonance phenomenon is really amazing, you sort of have to drive through an unmarked, rather rundown industrial part of town and the view is marred by an (Irving, of course) paper mill. Due to the immense tide in the Bay of Fundy, there is a point were in-rushing tidally forced waters collide with the downward flowing low-tide waters exiting the Saint John river creating these waves.



I liked the wooden sculptures -I want to say downtown, but it's specifically called Uptown.




We found a hotel by the Devonian age cliffs with the Saint John sign. I liked the naive murals painted by the local high school students, but as RJH said, if the cliffs are Devonian, somewhere a geologist is crying.

Peggy's Cove

This amazing, self-trained, late-in-life sculptor made this carvings out of granite (!) in his yard - including his pet seagull.



I love also the giant drop stones left behind by glaciers.