Iqaluit, Day 20: How To Party In The Arctic

If you have ever been on a night out with me, you probably know about the concept of the infamous "Pub Diary". It's simply a small book I use to bring along with me. And any time I end up somewhere in a pub, bar, restaurant, concert venue or basically any place where there is socialising going on, I doodle some impressions and thoughts into it. And of course I invite everyone around me to write or draw something into the diary as well. You can imagine, over the years there have been quite a few little books filled with hilarious memories!

So, yesterday we had a night out in Iqaluit. And I better let my pub diary speak...

A child-friendly pub. And of course the kids had to
write something into my pub diary... rules for example!

Left: Isabelle, my partner in crime for the night. Plus, she's a pirate.
Right: Had some Moosehead!

Left: 10 year old Katie May loved my hair so much.
Right: We went on to the legendary Legion and someone
wrote down what it is all about.

More great advice!

I like making musicians feel uncomfortable
when they realise I am drawing them :P

Thor does not only have an awesome name, he was also
one of my students at the workshop. And the drummer of
the band that played last night. Talk about talent!

Does it ever stop with the rules??
I should be in jail already...

You never know when you need a hebrew translation
of northern words here in the Arctic!

The room next door: The nightclub and Lottery

The things people philosophise about when they are tipsy ;)

Groovey live band

Iqaluit Disco!

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