Faux Birchbark Projects

 

Occasionally you get a phone call that results in an interesting project.  The is the result of one of those calls.  Eaglevision, a Winnipeg based film production company, was commissioned to do a documentary for the northern Manitoba community of Nelson House.  They needed a Birchbark canoe for some of the scenes, did I have one, or know where the could obtain one to rent?  No.  But I did have an old wood-canvas canoe that I wasn't using, and which needed re-canvassing, and I'd be willing to "dress up" as a birchbark canoe for them.  So I was able to earn some income from the refurbishment of the canoe and for the rental.  For the amount of time available to do the work (not much) I think that the results turned out pretty good.  I've always been annoyed at the terrible birchbark canoe replicas so often seen in film work, that I was determined that I should at least get the look right.  In the film, you can hardly tell...

By the way, I was able to rent the canoe two more times.  Once again to Eaglevision for a documentary on the community of Norway House, and to Farpoint Productions for their film, "The Peter Fiddler Story".

 

Ducks Unlimited has their Canadian head office just north of Winnipeg, at Oak Hammock Marsh. There are extensive wetlands there, and it is located along one of the major north-south flyways of many migratory birds.  They also operate an interpretive center at the marsh.  One of the activities is to offer water tours in 27' fiberglass North Canoes, or Canots du Nord.  They brought in their fleet to me for maintenance, and to get paint the one white canoe to match the other two "birchbark' style canoes. 

If you want to do your own, sand the hull and paint it a burnt orange colour, then over paint it with an orangey-brown, slightly grey, colour.  Get a piece of real birchbark to match the colours to.  Don't be mislead, birchbark canoes are built with the inner face of the bark turned out.  They are NOT white, like the trees!  While the darker paint is still wet, use a cut down corn broom and do sgrafito marks by scratching through the dark paint, revealing the lighter paint below.  Be erratic in your mark making, trying to mimic the natural markings of the birchbark.  Once done, take some dark brown and paint on the seam lines.  Decorate according to taste.  Try and use documentation, such as Adney's "Bark Canoes and Skinboats of North America".

 

 

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