Iqaluit, Day 24: Lock Your Bloody Door!

"No matter if you are in prison or in church, 
you lock your bloody door!"

– Martin W. Mason

One habit I've encountered here in Iqaluit is that nobody locks their doors. Not the front door, not the back door... there are cars even parked and running in front of the supermarket - with keys and mobile phone and all in there! People here apparently are so genuinely nice to each other that they don't expect anything bad happening. A couple of times I woke up in the middle of the night, panicking and checking if the front door is locked. Hey, I'm only acting with a healthy sense of mistrust there. ;)

But to be fair, stealing a car in Iqaluit is probably hopeless anyways. Where would you go with a stolen car? The roads end outside of the town.

I almost feel bad that I openly mentioned my concern that it only needs one person (preferrably a tourist... hey, not me!) with a twisted mind to open one of the parked cars or walk into a house and take whatever they like. I made people paranoid ;P And you won't believe what the local newspaper said yesterday...

I brought the theft to Iqaluit o_O;

Iqaluit, Day 22: Arctic Sunsets

When the sky is clear and the evening approaches, you can experience some of the most stunning and colourful sunsets in the Arctic. Slowly this blinding white and blue scenery turns into a warm blend of pink and purple, turquoise, gold and silver. All decorated with sparkling ice crystals.

We took the Skidoos and drove out to the bay to have a better view at the amazing colour transformation.

Those colours!

Returning home via Apex, a small community close to Iqaluit.
Historically, it was the first inuit settlement before Iqaluit was built.

Returning to Iqaluit just in time.

There's always time to kick some snow and tell it to fuck off.
After all it's mid April for god's sake!

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