Canada: 10 provinces, 3 territories and their symbols

 
A couple of people asked whether I could print my series of province and territory linocuts on one giant pieace of paper. I was thinking that a book might be a better format. You see, the provinces are not at all printed to scale (and may even have some variations in projection). I made this decision consciously. You see, the smallest province PEI is 5,660 km² whereas Nunavut, the largest of either province or territory is  2,038,722 km²- that is a bit more than 360 times as large. So, unless I was making art for a very very large space indeed, and could make prints in tens of square metres, I would never be able to acheive enough detail in the smaller provinces. However, it is possible to digitally place all the images side by side, and with a little Photoshop magic, you can see all of Canada. The pieces don't match perfectly; but, between inprecision in my carving, and variations from map to map (of scale, resolutions and maybe even projection) it's a pretty good fit.

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.

Alberta

The symbols of Alberta, its provincial animal, the big horn sheep and its famous flower, the wild rose cover the hand-carved map of Alberta in this linocut. 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.

It was obvious, despite the various symbols of the province from which to choose, that I needed to include the wild rose¹; the licence plate of every car in the province proclaims it to be 'Wild Rose Country'. While the provincial bird, the Great Horned Owl is a wonderful subject, its range stretches far beyond the province. The mammalian emblem, the Big Horned Sheep, on the other hand, gets its very name from Canada: Ovis canadensis. Also, I liked the idea of using the shape of the province to micmic its topography. So, I imagined a scene of looking through a wild rose bush on the prarie at the base of the foothills, west towards the mountains of the Rockies and the Big Horn Sheep.

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 have visited Calgary several times, and flown over the province more times than I could count. I hope one day to be able to explore more of Alberta. I know there is much beauty yet for me to discover. One Week, for instance, convinced me that I need to go to Drumheller, "Dinosaur Capital of the World"! Plus, hardy friends keep moving to Edmonton.<sup>2

1</sup> No political overtones intended. I won't hold the, shall we say less-than-gay-positive party with the unexpectedly poetic name against the flower. The flower came first.

² Did you know they have summer and winter electrical tape there? Do you know why? Cause regular vinyl tape can freeze solid at -40^oC and cut like a knife. Or, at least so I've been told.

Manitoba

I've followed up my home province print with the home province of my mother: Manitoba.
The provincial animal the bison and flower the prairie crocus (Anemone patens) cover the hand-carved map of Manitoba in this linocut. The block was inked 'à la poupée' (with different colours, pale violet, umber and 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 an edition of seven.

It's no mystery how the bison could symbolize this prairie province. Manitoba is one of the few places where one can still find free-ranging herds of woods and plains bison. The early spring flower, Anemone patens, known as the "Prairie Crocus" was chosen by the school children as the floral emblem of the province in 1906. I imagined a bison roaming a field replete with prairie crocuses. I was sure to include Lake Winnepeg, Lake Manitoba through Lake Winnipegosis to Cedar Lake and even Reindeer Lake, because they are part of the arc of immense lakes extending from the Great Lakes which are cut into the fabric of this country.