The Porcupine's Quill
Celebrating forty years on the Main Street
of Erin Village, Wellington County
GEORGE A. WALKER
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Browse this page for more information about George A. Walker, links to video and audio references, upcoming tour dates and information about his popular courses at the Ontario College of Art & Design.
‘The delicacy and intelligence of George Walker’s print-making seems to have come to us from a bygone age. Fortunately, we have George with us now.’
— Neil Gaiman, author of The Sandman
BIOGRAPHY
George A. Walker (Canadian, b. 1960) is an award-winning wood engraver, book artist, teacher, author, and illustrator who has been creating artwork and books and publishing at his private press since 1984. Walker’s popular courses in book arts and printmaking at OCAD University in Toronto, where he is Associate Professor, have been running continuously since 1985. For over twenty years Walker has exhibited his wood engravings and limited edition books internationally, often in conjunction with The Loving Society of Letterpress (and The Binders of Infinite Love) and the Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild (CBBAG). Among many book projects Walker has illustrated two hand-printed books written by internationally-acclaimed author Neil Gaiman. Walker is also the illustrator of the first Canadian editions of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking-Glass books (Cheshire Cat Press). George A. Walker was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Art for his contribution to the cultural area of Book Arts.
For more information please visit the Author’s website »
PUBLICATIONS
Trudeau: La Vie en RoseGeorge A. Walker
ISBN 978-0-88984-386-8
Master engraver George A. Walker presents Trudeau: La Vie en Rose, a compendium of engravings celebrating the life of one of Canada’s most well-known politicians: Pierre Elliott Trudeau.
The Wordless Leonard Cohen SongbookISBN 978-0-88984-375-2
‘The Wordless Leonard Cohen Songbook demands close and careful viewing. In this, it is like cinema, or the photographic work of a Richard Avedon or Diane Arbus. Each image is full, suggestive and rich in context and style.’
—Norman Ravvin, The Canadian Jewish News
The Life and Times of Conrad BlackISBN 978-0-88984-365-3
‘By eschewing words, Walker's woodcuts are allowed to stand as simple and powerful gestures to a life story that any amount of words would be unable to tell in any case.... These images are, as Tom Smart's closing essay suggests, a kind of text in themselves, and they tell a story that is truly compelling, even and especially if it is a story that requires us to contribute more than usual to its telling.’
—Jeremy Luke Hill
The Mysterious Death of Tom ThomsonISBN 978-0-88984-348-6
‘The book does not want to be put down; instead the reader, the observer, re-engages again and again, returning to read into the images a story that eludes understanding just as understanding seems to elude stories without words. This is a book for the shade on a bright summer day.’
—Mandelbrot, Geist
Book of HoursISBN 978-0-88984-335-6
‘Walker has summoned the retrospective tension that exists for many after greeting the morning of Sept. 11, 2001 without a specific regard to personal safety, terrorism, or the rupture of simple daily ritual.’
—Rachel Farquharson, Huffington Post
Alice's Adventures in WonderlandISBN 978-0-88984-339-4
‘The classic Alice in Wonderland is known by all, but the story is off the wall enough that one’s interpretation may be different from another’s. Alice Adventure's in Wonderland: Wood Engravings is George A. Walker's own take with woodcuts as he illustrates Carroll's famed story. Showing a unique skill in his interpretation, he captures a charm that’s been lost with the decline of woodcuts, and makes for a unique journey. Alice's Adventure in Wonderland is a must for any fan of the story and unique art styles.’
—Midwest Book Review
A Is for AliceISBN 978-0-88984-323-3
‘At the heart of this book is the art of the book, pages kissed by poetic samples of Carroll's writing and bound using artisan techniques onsite at The Porcupine's Quill headquarters. It is a high-quality, collectable edition in which fans of the Alice stories, bibliophiles, and young readers will delight.’
—Patty Comeau, ForeWord Magazine
Images from the NeocerebellumISBN 978-0-88984-291-5
‘Paired with brief explicatory entries describing the pictures, the pages of the book chart a passage into an irrational world in which a central character finds himself in a Kafkaesque world, wandering alienated in a strange space. Others show odd juxtapositions of recognizable things—a tree coming out of a mouth, a person in a bed with oversized hands, pierced faces, and a puzzling device of a circus performer flanked by two barking wolves balancing on balls, arranged as if a heraldic device.’
—Tom Smart, Devil's Artisan
The Inverted LineISBN 978-0-88984-214-4
‘The greatest compliment I can pay it is, there is not a dull spot in the book. He can present us with humour without a hint of them being cartoons. I think he must have fun doing these prints. It is a good example of drawing straight to the point, and not fussing with a lot of extra stuff. These drawings wiggle and dance in space. They are small in scale, but each is huge in heart. They look like they are chiseled out of rock. I’ve had this book laying around, and when a visitor picks it up, I hear exclamations of surprise and awe.’
—James Horton, Block & Burin
VIDEOS
George Walker explains the history of wood engraving and what it is, and how it differs from woodcut and linocut. Recorded in August 2007 at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival. (Credit: motoronna) 
At the 2007 Doors Open festival in Erin, Ontario, George Walker demonstrates how he carves woodblocks to create wood engravings. Tim Inkster assists with the presentation. (Credit: motoronna)
Images from the Neocerebellum: The Wood Engravings of George A. Walker. Video by Allen Zuk, uploaded September 2008. (Credit: Allan Zuk)
George Walker is a Canadian wood engraver and printmaker who can also hover in mid-air — truly a remarkable man! On the making of A Is for Alice at The Porcupine's Quill' shop in Erin, Ontario. (Credit: Marc Beurteaux) 
The Book of Hours takes place in New York city from September 10th 2001 until the morning of September 11th. This video is something of a movie version of the wordless novel told in 99 wood engravings. (Credit: Neil Exall)
This video is based on the book which follows the life of Canadian landscape painter Tom Thomson until his mysterious death in Algonquin Park in 1917. (Credit: Neil Exall)
AUDIO INTERVIEW
Audio Interview: George Walker on his Presses and creating and collecting Wood Engravings. September 2011. (Credit: Nigel Beale, The Literary Tourist)
RESOURCES
George A. Walker’s official website. The home page contains links to his work, including hand-printed limited editions. Stay up to date on his latest projects with behind the scenes photos.
The author’s official Facebook page. Contains announcements regarding his frequent events, appearances and exhibitions as well as samples of his work.
Walker’s OCAD U faculty page. Extensive CV with information regarding publications and presentations. Also check out some of the courses that he teaches. (Course offerings subject to change.)
George A. Walker’s entry on Wikipedia. Includes bio, career highlights and bibliography.
DA 53 (Fall 2003) is subtitled ‘Notes on the Tools and Techniques of Wood Engraving’. By George A Walker. Includes seventeen illustrations, a Bibliography and suggestions about Suppliers, Resources and Related Organizations.
DA 68 (2011) is guest edited by Tom Smart, and features a lead article entitled ‘From Wood Engraving to Graphic Narrative: The Development of George A. Walker’s Xylographica’. The issue also includes a review of George Walker’s Book of Hours by Bill Baker.
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 Canada Book Fund (CBF) is also gratefully acknowledged.
PQL Collections:
- The Essential Poets Series
- The Wordless Novels Series
- The Alphabet Collection
- Fabulous Fictions Project
- STICKY fingers