Wood, Ink and Paper

sewn paper
Art / Wood Engraving
First published in 1980
Now in its ninth printing!
160 pages
ISBN 0-88984-029-6
$14.95

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Wood, Ink and Paper

G. Brender à Brandis

`This volume, which brings together more than seventy woodcuts and an excellent introduction by the artist, carries with it the same brooding quality of that first print I saw of the Baldoon mystery house. The lines are rich and black, and the images -- abandoned schoolhouses, solitary silos, rough hewn barrels -- are like pastoral poems. In fact, this emphasis on nature and the small size of the woodcuts with the accompanying feeling on compactness and economy, suggests an affinity to the Japanese haiku. Brender à Brandis' ability to capture mood is unparalleled.

`In this book he draws us into scenes like that of a windswept kite set against a blustery spring day with the skeletal branches and fence rows, or that of a gigantic setting sun blazing through a field of winter wheat, or the quietude of an upstairs room in a farmhouse. There are also pictures of abandoned broken windmills, fishing tugs, pine washstands, black-eyed susans, windowsills ... all quiet, contemplative and reserved.'
- Marty Gervais, The Windsor Star

`This book is a step on the way towards a better understanding of wood engraving in Canada, by making the work and philosophy of one of Canada's best artists in this medium available at a modest price.'
- Hamilton Spectator

`I've been looking at the work in Wood, Ink and Paper for some time now, attempting to understand images cut so finely into wood and transferred to these pages. The time and precision necessary if each stroke is to take its place among the others must quiet the emotions. The artist's feelings are as complex as the images themselves and, like those images, they are often ambivalent or understated. ...

`Wood, Ink and Paper is well made and comfortable to the hand. The artist's introduction offers insights into the engraving process as well as his feelings about his subject matter and the importance of the book as a format for his work. Brender à Brandis, with his engraver's tools, has sketched a poem line the breadth of wind. It is about the possibilities of imagination, the strength of observation and, perhaps, the origins of life around us.'
- Brick

`Now for something entirely different ... Wood, Ink and Paper, a book of wood engravings by G. Brender à Brandis. This is actually a charming and rather lovely little book. On first impression, it may seem incomplete -- a series of illustrations without a story. But it's more than that. "The book," writes Brandis, "is not merely a container holding a number of small works of art -- it is a work of art." I tend to agree. Nothing overwhelming -- a miniature -- but with every detail in just the right place.'
- Books in Canada

Visit the artist in his studio/gallery at 249 Ontario Street, Stratford, Ontario. The studio is open to the public during the Stratford Festival season (approximately 15 May to 31 October) -- Wednesday through Sunday 10am to 6pm (closed Monday and Tuesday) and at other times by appointment (519) 273-7523.

The front room of this 1877 Ontario cottage is an informal exhibition space, with a table and chairs -- even a rocking chair -- that is equally inviting on a warm summer afternoon or a rainy day in October. Here you will find many wood engravings of garden plants and wildflowers (some hand-tinted), birds and other small creatures, scenes and old buildings both local and remote, in a choice of framed or shrink-wrapped or unmounted formats. There are usually some studies in pencil, ink, watercolours or oils, a cabinet holds books and chapbooks in handmade, limited editions. Commercial books illustrated by the artist are also available, as are some hasti-notes.

The central room is the studio where it all takes place -- designing, engraving, typesetting, printing, bookbinding and weaving. The focal point of the studio is an Albion, hand-operated printing press made in 1882. There is always work in progress and a visit provides both an opportunity to learn about traditional bookmaking techniques and an insight into an artist's creative process.

Photo by Gordon Stephen

A member of the Society of Wood Engravers (England) and of the American Society of Botanical Artists, Gerard Brender à Brandis has produced hundreds of drawings, wood engravings and watercolours of flowering plants, many of which were studied in his own garden. These images have appeared in books, including Wood, Ink and Paper, At Water's Edge (currently out of print) and Portraits of Flowers (all published by The Porcupine's Quill) as well as in his own handmade editions. His work is represented in the collections of the Royal Botanical Gardens (Hamilton, Ontario), the Missouri Botanic Garden, the Arnold Arboretum and the Hunt Botanical Library. His garden and his studio are located in Stratford, Ontario.

His latest collection is called An Artist's Garden.

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Contents © 2006 The Porcupine's Quill, Inc. - Updated: 06 April 2006 by Tim Inkster
The Porcupine's Quill, 68 Main Street, Erin, Ontario CANADA N0B 1T0
Telephone (519) 833-9158 Fax (519) 833-9845 e-mail pql@sentex.net

The Porcupine's Quill would like to acknowledge the support of the Ontario Arts Council
and the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program. The financial support
of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP)
is also gratefully acknowledged. Thanks, also, to the Government of Ontario
through the Ontario Media Development Corporation's Ontario Book Publisher's Tax Credit
(OBPTC) programme and the Ontario Book Initiative.

The Porcupine's Quill is remarkable in Canadian publishing in that most of the physical production
of our books is completed in-house at the shop on the Main Street of Erin Village.

We print on a twenty-five inch Heidelberg KORD, typically onto acid-free Zephyr Antique laid.
The sheets are then folded, and sewn into signatures on a 1907 model Smyth National Book Sewing machine.