Projects: cardinalia

The intention of my new paper cut cardinals was to adorn pine boughs in our apartment for the festive season, however, these sassy characters have been turning up everywhere.

I love the tradition of dragging trees into our homes for the festive season and decorating trees with birds seems only logical (for more on this theme visit the Leisure site at www.leisuregallery.ca). These paper cut cardinals are made from St. Armand heavy weight hand made paper. The design is a simple two piece pattern, with the wing piece slotted into place without the use of adhesive. Dozens of these cardinals currently decorate the St. Armand mill on St. Patrick. For cardinal viewing and paper shopping St. Armand is open by appointment: 3700, rue Saint-Patrick, Montréal, Québec, Canada, H4E 1A2. Tél : (514) 931-8338

A few years ago while attending a millinery workshop at the Stratford festival, I visited the Gerard Brender à Brandis studio. The cardinal print that I purchased is a very modest but quirky example of work by this master of wood engraving. The Brender à Brandis studio is open to the public six months a year and is a picturesque paper fantasy of hand-marbled papers, meticulously prepared box-wood engraving blocks and impeccable hand presses. For more information on Gerard Brender à Brandis see Endgrain Editions One: Gerard Brender à Brandis at www.barbarianpress.com, or Wood, Ink & Paper published by the Canadian literary press Porcupine's Quill (www.sentex.net/~pql/)

Caught up in the wave of cardinalia, Doug brought home this cardinal adorned Hilroy "alouette" note pad. Hilroy, (now a division of Meade Corporation) has been manufacturing envelopes and school supplies since the early seventies. Available through Hilroy are difficult to procure paper items such as onion skin notepads, 1/2 ruled 1/2 plain notebooks, and the unforgettable CANADA Exercise books/ cahiers d'exercices. The "alouette" assorted colour pad is a curiosity not just because of its amazing graphics but also as it appears to contain buff taupe paper through-out.