If ever there was a man born to carve, it is Luc Cyr from Baker Brook. As far back as he can remember, Luc has been in love with wood and the feel of it in his hands. The times he spent in his grandfather’s woodworking shop are some of his fondest childhood memories.
It isn’t hard to find Luc and his partner Paula Lentz. Head up the hill on Cyr Road, away from the St. John River, and even without the address you will know when you have arrived. Nestled in a stand of hardwoods is a striking Victorian house, painted yellow and trimmed to a “T.” Luc took five years to get it just right; it is that attention to detail that makes him a great carver.
Luc spends his days in The Bird Factory, his woodworking shop just behind their house, where the sweet smell of spruce sawdust fills the air. But the task of bringing Luc’s carved decoys to life, or, at least, very close to life, is left to Paula. It is her skill with paint and colour that almost has the birds flying. Paula is self-taught and as she says, “I learned by trial and error. Lots of trials, lots of errors.”
Paula met Luc a little more than 10 years ago and back then, “a duck was a duck was a duck.” It wasn’t until she was kayaking a local river with her sister that all this changed. “Vicky told me to look up,” said Paula. “And there it was. A green heron perched dead still. The way the sun was hitting the feathers made them look metallic - like they were on fire. I didn’t even know birds like that existed.”
Luc’s introduction to the world of birds began a lot earlier. When Luc was young, he was always in the woods. He could spend all day on snowshoes. Having a forest ranger for a father didn’t hurt either. “He knew his birds, but he taught us to be respectful of nature as well.”
Luc’s and Paula’s birds are showing up everywhere now, from Dublin to Ottawa. Even NHL hockey legend, Jean Belliveau, has one. But for those who like to do it themselves, they offer one-day workshops. “In the morning I teach them to carve,” says Luc. “Then, after lunch, Paula comes in to teach them painting. By five or six they are on their way home with their own bird.” And, as Paula is quick to add, “The birds they make are wonderful.”
So drop by if you are in the area; Luc is sure to be in his shop and Paula won’t be far off, especially after Martin blows the air horn to wake her up. Martin, a friend of theirs who is quite a joker, usually drops by each day to help out – and, since Luc carved a fantastical flying man to represent Martin, which now tops The Bird Factory, a flying man with a horn, Martin can’t help blowing his own horn, so to speak, to start the day off.
276 Cyr St., Baker Brook
506-258-3979