Iqaluit, Day 19: The Arts

What would be the whole point of being an illustrator going up so far north without checking out the local arts? In today's post I'm going to show you a small selection of what's going on art-wise in the Northern Territories of Canada...

At the Iqaluit Fine Arts Studio.
Soapstone carvings are very popular
and beautifully done.

The Master at work

Details of an antler carving

  

Tupilaks are ritualistic monster figures.
Read more about them:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupilaq

Carved whale bone

Inuksuks are a popular carving motif.

I came across one artist, Germaine Arnaktauyok, and I really dig her style. She's very popular here and I've seen many of her art prints decorating the walls of people's homes.

"Sleep My Little One"

"The Shaman's Apprentice"

"Mother Earth"

And last but not least, I contributed to the local art scene a little bit as well :) I held a Digital Painting Workshop at the Nunavut Arctic College on four evenings and one Beginner's Course on the weekend.  It was fascinating to see the students getting into it so fast and with such great interest. Really proud of all of them! 

Iqaluit, Day 18: A Storm Is Coming

Well, the reason why I'm not posting much about further arctic adventures in the wilderness is simply because there isn't happening any at the moment. It's getting a tad stormy recently!

The weather changes its mood and everything's quiet

The Kamautik and the Skidoos all buried in snow...

Fortunately, there's enough to do indoors here in Iqaluit. For example digging into research of inuit culture and paying a visit to the local museum and visitor centre.

Badass carving of a walrus skull

The traditional women's costume is the Amauti.
They carry their babies in the large hoodie.

The closest I could get to a polar bear so far.

More dead stuff

A gigantic skull of a Northern Bottle Nose whale

Muskox

The Ulu is a traditional knife.
Totally fell in love with them!

Harpoons

 

Iqaluit, Day 15: Around Town

Since I was brought here to actually do some work and not just zooming around on a snowmobile or wrestling polar bears, those last few days have been productive and were mostly spent indoors. The weather was rather cold, windy and lots of snow came down. 

On Easter Sunday we all went to a magnificent Brunch Banquet at the Frobisher Inn. It was HUGE! So much food... so much great food... fresh strawberries in the Arctic, can you wish for more?

A small part of the enormous dessert corner. Food overkill!

So, here are a few pics from around town:

The neighbourhood

Iqaluit center

Nakasuk Elementary School

St. Jude's Anglican Church

 

The Navigator Inn

Inside Grind & Brew Cafe

Iqaluit, Day 12: Picknick on the Ice

When I moved to Cork a couple years ago, I learned something from the Irish: You can go out and do something, no matter if it's rainy, windy or both - just do it! Now that I got a taste of arctic life here in Iqaluit, I learned another lesson from the locals: You can go out and do something, no matter if it's -20 Celsius and everything's covered with a thick layer of ice and snow!

So, yesterday we had a picknick on the ice!

We took the Skidoos, packed some lunch and off we went across the hills and on the sea ice. It's fascinating how agile the snowmobiles are. If you have seen the pictures of the frozen tidal waves I posted a few days ago, the answer is yes - we crossed that with the Skidoos and the Kamautiks, which are large sleds attached to the snowmobiles.

After we found the perfect spot for the Picknick, we all got hot tea and soup, sandwiches and stuff. I realised that bringing an apple to an arctic picknick isn't the best idea. It was the iciest apple I've ever seen.

Oh, and I fell from the Skidoo whilst zooming around the picknick area. The ground is so white, you cannot see anything anymore. I drove over a bump and found myself covered in snow a few seconds later. So I'm officially a Pro now!

Frobisher Bay

A Kamautik

Isabelle, Neil and their adorable daughter Mia.
And there's another baby! Both were fast asleep
during the bumpy, cold ride.

Cold temperatures and hot tea - best thing ever!

More water for the tea

After I fell from my Skidoo, I felt I need to build
my first Inuksuk to remember the historic event.

My Inuksuk. Was hard enough to dig out the stones!!

Arctic Picknick

Getting ready for the new Game of Thrones Season! =P

Iqaluit, Day 11: Longing Monsters

Almost half of the time of my stay here in Iqaluit is over already. So today's post is dedicated to my amazing husband Martin. With a very heavy heart he did let me go away so far north for such a long time (I know, some of you might think "Get a grip, it's just a month!" but for us it is just a very long time being apart from each other).

Saying Goodbye at the airport in Cork was terribly sad and intense. I was worried and excited and curious at the same time and I almost felt guilty to abandon him for this adventure in the Arctic. We initially tried to get Martin over to Iqaluit as well, but the cost of traveling was just too high and it's hard enough to get a month off. So I appreciate it even more that he has the trust in me and knows how important and valuable this trip is for me. I promise, I won't make a habit out of it ;)

You are incredible, Martin, and the best that has happened to me! I love you and miss you and cannot wait to see you again. I am surrounded by Longing Monsters ;)

Iqaluit, Day 10: Sundogs and Northern Lights

Seeing Northern Lights was something I was really looking forward to when I came to Iqaluit. And tonight they finally showed up. Right across my house! Like a spooky green snake they wandered across the sky. Unfortunately, I was so excited I didn't pay attention to any special camera setting you would have to use for getting the best shot of the Northern Lights =P So this one here has to do for now:

Northern Lights.
In reality they were much more impressive, though.

Another light phenomena I've seen here for the first time of my life are Sundogs. I spot them on a regular basis in the evening, those weird colourful lights flanking both sides of the sun at dusk and sometimes even forming a halo. I haven't had a chance to actually take a photo, so I am just stealing one from the web, which shows Sundogs over Iqaluit:

Crazy stuff, right?
(Photo taken by Frank Reardon)

Apparently, Sundogs can be seen all over the world. Though I have never seen them anywhere before.

In other news, temperatures dropped down to -30 Celsius those last few days and it's quite cold outside, especially with the wind. It's a very dry cold, though, so not too bad at all. As the saying goes: There's no bad weather, there's only bad clothes ;)