Carvings, Paintings, and Inuit Art.....

There can be no question for someone that likes Art, carvings, paintings, and fur art that Iqaluit is a great place to see a huge variety. On a continual basis daily you have the opporutnity to buy pieces of art work that are created from various stones to furs and canvas.

Every day at the store you are guaranted to be approached by at least 5 different people that have a carving, jewlrey, etchings, or fur art that they are trying to sell. For many this is there way of making money, and they are not pushy about it but rather they will approach you and show you the carving, and gauge your interest.

There is a wonderful older lady who is in a wheelchair that will often sit inside the store with her pieces of fur that she has crafted into small huskies....very cute and quite a fine piece of art. Another gentlemen often has polar bears that he has carved himself out of a green stone(serpentine). There is another great artist that carves using a small rotary hand grinder (he has replaced the blade with a saw wheel). I imagine that I would cut my hand off, but it is amazing to watch him with the saw perched between his legs and rotating the stone to make the right cuts, to make the piece take shape. He specilizes in polar bears as well, but also has a lot of other carvings ranging from seals, to whales, to inuit hunters.

I went out for supper with the crowd from head office last week. While enjoying a great meal we were shown atleast 12 different carvings.......some were very beautiful. Asking price ranged from $40.00 for a small carving, or earrings to 2000.00 for a beautiful polar bear on a sheet of ice. These carvings were a different class with differnt colour stone inset. For a collector or someone who knows what they are at there is probably a great online market for these pieces of art. I know that as time passes I will build a small collection. They are great gifts as well. Supper here is very different with a parade of art....but it adds to the atmoshere and reminds you that your not in Halifax anymore.

More to come....enjoying every day, and every new experiance....