| It is actually called the Museum of Ancient Canadians
on most of the signs. It turned out to be a collection of superior wood
sculptures by local artists - wood sculpture is a tradition here. Many reflect the local
occupations such as these two sailors in
their boat. |  |
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The women are not forgotten as shown by this old lady with the spinning wheel. The matching
figure of a man has a
fiddle which covers the other great interest of the area - music. |
| Whilst many of the sculptures are of old traditional
subjects, some artists are more modern in their outlook. This is a much more
up to date
figure and the shavings for the hair are really unusual. |  |
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There are hundreds of figures but we are naturally attracted to musicians.
We would like to buy one but we have yet to find a realistic face such as
this one, but it isn't for sale. |
| In amongst the carvings there is the odd boat. This
is entitled Galette de Gaspe. We are on the Gaspe peninsula. |  |
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Not all the objects are plain carvings. This is coloured and is the
product of yet another artist's style. |
| Just to show that wood carving can be right up to date
we have this almost life sized figure of Harry Potter. The last book has
just gone on the shelves in Canada and was reputed to be selling a copy
every three seconds! |  |
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Some of the pieces are just plain art although none the less skilful.
This was carved and polished from a single piece of wood. |
| There are several bowls and vases in this style using
the faults in the wood as part of the finished object. We have seen pieces
like this elsewhere but we still admire the skill which goes into turning
something like this. |  |
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There are many different artists and many different styles. This is an
unusual and colourful piece made from several different but interlocking
pieces. |
| Carving as a mural is different again. This is one
of a series of bas-reliefs depicting local scenes. |  |
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I still would like a clock. This is included in the museum and would be a unique piece
where the carved wood assumes more importance than the clock mechanism. |
| I'm still most impressed by realism and this is one
of the most realistic figures we have seen. |  |
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This is real modern sculpture in steel and wood and uses a national
sporting figure as the subject. It is life sized. |
| I thought this bas relief of Freud particularly
clever with the extra figure forming part of the face. The artist who did
this was actually on site giving demonstrations but he was deep into French
conversation with someone else. |  |
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Travelling on we found this tin roofed church with its red painted roof so
typical of the area. |
| Opposite the church is this statue of 'Head in a
book'. It is difficult to see here but the face is actually projecting from
the cover of the book - it is rather clever. |  |
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You don't need to chop down the tree to do the carving. This one has been
carved in situ and shows different stages of life. I doubt it is still growing but I wonder how long it will
last. |
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