Personal Inuit Art Life Experience
the drill for instance, the handle is made from a rib of a polar bear and if one is not available it is made from caribou antler. The line is made from bearded seal rope. The drill bits are made from bone when no wood is available with flint stone tips known as bits and the mouth piece is from a knee cap of a caribou. Even things like combs were made out of ivory.
Read MoreVancouver, the Hot Place for Inuit Art
Since I came to Vancouver of the night of the Olympic opening ceremonies on February the 12th, it has been non-stop all the way. Besides the Olympics Games going on there are many other things people from the city and the visiting world can see and do. The last couple of days have been very interesting to me as it felt like family day to me. On February 17th a carver from Cape Dorset, Matthew Saviarjuk Jaw was invited by Nigel Reading of the Spirit Wrestler Gallery to have some concerning discussions of the Inuit art world. I went there with him as his interpreter, though is his English is good but he preferred I went with him, much to my delight. Upon entering the Spirit Wrestler Gallery, one can seem to find peace after hearing the busy streets of Vancouver, a...
Read MoreCanada`s Northern House
I have visited the Canada`s Northern House in Vancouver on 602 West Hastings, and yes it is very interesting. The set up is so that one can see and experience the three northern Territories of Canada. Walking into the Canada`s Northern House (CNH) one can see the inuksuk made by Peter Irniq of Ottawa, Canada originally from Repulse Bay or Nauyaat, Nunavut. Since I am originally from Nauyaat as well I could recognize some of the rocks coming from there. Many people were getting their photos taken next to the inuksuk both young an old alike, and from all over the world. There are many displays of arts and crafts from the aboriginal and some non aboriginal people of the three territories. I will elaborate on the arts as that is the field of my interest. There are...
Read MoreOlympics – What It Meant To Me
The first time I ever heard the word Olympics was when I as going to school. The teacher proudly showed us a book with pictures of athletes and a runner holding a lit torch. As the teacher proudly explains what the Olympics is all about, to me it looked so much more like a fairy tale, about strong men and women, but I knew these people, all they did was compete to be the best for their country in sports. It was out of this world for me. Exciting part, it was in done in Peace. Just like when we had our aattauyaq (ball) games. We would team up and play all night in the spring time when we had 24 hours of day light. The object of the game was to see how much longer the team can have the ball by constantly throwing it from teammate to teammate, while the other...
Read MoreSananguaqti Was His Nickname
Sananguaqti was my dad Marc Tungilik`s nickname. His friends called him that and that translates to `The Carver`. Marc Tungilik was known throughout the community as Sananguaqti, many in Repulse Bay (Nauyaat in Inuktitut), Nunavut that was, though just his friends called him that. My dad carved every where. He carved indoors when there would be less dust from when he was sanding and polishing. He carved outdoors when his carving produced too much dust. He carved when he went hunting, mostly when he was in his boat or just along the shore line. The sound of filing on ivory or soapstone or the final sanding touch did make a curious sound for the seal. A few years ago my husband and I were in Churchill, Manitoba. We went to visit the Eskimo Museum and found...
Read MoreThe Untold Story of Marc Tungilik The Carver
Marc Tungilik was a great carver of Inuit lifestyle, simply because he lived it. Since birth I have heard the sound of hacking, chipping, sawing, filing and sanding. They were very much a part of our everyday sound around our home when he was carving. He took the Lord`s Day to heart so Sundays and Holy Days were his rest days. The way our dad made sure we always had something to eat and dressed warmly was to hunt and carve. His hunting provided food and clothing and we were nomadic people before I turned six. Meaning that we did not live where there were stores or any place where one could shop at a moment`s desire. We would have to dog team about three hundred miles to do that. Most of the time it would just be my dad and my brother Kadluk who would...
Read MoreTungilik
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