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Charissa Alain-Lilly - Craftwork - Yellowknife, NT
Charissa has been creating things all her life; as soon as she could grasp a crayon, pencil or piece of paper. Since she arrived in the North in 2004, she’s felt connected to the land here. She draws inspiration for her work from the land, the beauty of nature, and traditional aboriginal designs and natural materials. Charissa uses Traditional Dene materials like caribou hide, porcupine quills, dentalium shells, feathers, fur, birch bark, spruce root, and silverberry seeds. She incorporates her own style to practical items – like blankets, bags, purses and slippers, as well as items of adornment, like necklaces and earrings.
Feather Necklace & Earrings Brain Tanned Hide Headband Caribou Medicine Pouch/Necklace
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Kathy Battye - Textiles - Pangnirtung, NU
Born in Iqaluit in 1970 Kathy Battye has lived in Pangnirtung all of her life. She has eight children and values her time out on Cumberland Sound camping and fishing with her family. Attracted to the textile arts Kathy enrolled in the textiles program offered by Arctic College at the Pangnirtung campus. She enjoys learning new processes and acquiring new skills in textile work. In 2008 she enrolled in a year long course to study weaving and tapestry at the Pangnirtung Tapestry Studio. Upon completion she was hired as a tapestry apprentice. In 2009 she was part of the team weaving Achieving a Dream a ten foot wide by six foot high tapestry commissioned for the 2010 winter Olympics. Kathy feels that her tapestry abilities grew enormously through working alongside the veteran Pangnirtung weavers and master weaver David Cochrane of the Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh. Now a full time weaver at the Studio Kathy weaves Limited Edition tapestries and is looking forward to learning additional techniques and methods in tapestry and other textile arts.
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Caroline Blechert - Jewellery - Yellowknife, NT
Born and raised in Yellowknife, Caroline has been making jewellery since the age of 12. A full-time student, she spends her extra time designing intricate jewellery pieces with beads, porcupine quills, and other materials. She was inspired as a child, watching her Nanuk make beautiful beadwork designs on mukluks and moccasins, but is also influenced by other traditional and modern jewelleries and from nature. "I draw inspiration from my traditional roots to inspire me to use my wings in creating my own artwork", she says.
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Cecile Bonnetrouge - Traditional Arts - Hay River, NT
Cecile Deneyoua is a Dene Artist who works in the Traditional Arts making moose and caribou hair tuftings. Cecile learned to create hair tuftings by watching her mother and six sisters. Cecile not only continues her mother’s traditions of tufting, but she is also fluent in her Dene language, South Slavey. Cecile was honoured to be one of the few artists selected to represent the Northwest Territories at Canada’s Northern House at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. This is Cecile’s first time as an artist at the Great Northern Arts Festival.
Moose Hair Tufting: Ptarmagin Design Moose Hair Tufting: Floral Design
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Diane Boudreau - Painter - Yellowknife, NT
Combining her background in biology and environmental design, Diane‘s paintings and urban art installations are truly reflective of her commitment to her work, the environment and her belief that art belongs to all of us.
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Robert Buckle - Jewellery - Aklavik, NT
Robert makes handcrafted jewellery from a variety of metals, stones and natural materials. He enjoys working with natural materials found in and around the Mackenzie Delta. Originally from Aklavik, Robert seeks out natural materials like ivory, mammoth, and baleen. Robert has been attending the festival for many years. Robert has exhibited works at the Museum of Civilization in Ottawa, Ontario, Spirit Wrestler Gallery in Vancouver, British Columbia and at the Houston North Gallery in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Robert loves being out on the land, where he finds plenty of ideas for his work in the appreciation of the landscape, colours, natural shapes and wildlife.
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Myrna Button - Stained glass/Painter - Inuvik, NT
Open landscapes, the result of countless days spent running a dog team, inspire Myrna. She describes her work as simple and abstract, with many subconscious details and enjoys exploring a multitude of mediums.
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Marie-Helene Comeau - Painter - Whitehorse, YT
Marie-Helene a self-taught artist, came from Quebec but has found great inspiration from the Yukon. She loves to work with acrylic, though she will use anything she can find on her colourful quest.
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Koomuatuk “Kuzy” Curley - Carver - Yellowknife, NT
Growing up in Cape Dorset, NU, Kuzy was surrounded by carvings and carvers. He has a lot to show where he comes from and he does it really well with his stunning carvings. Being a third generation carver, he is the new millennium carver of his family. With great talent and a good background of carvers, Kuzy is proudly representing the families of Ashoona and Curley’s.
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Anna Etuangat - Textiles - Pangnirtung, NU
Anna has worked with her hands in arts and crafts as long as she can remember. Born in 1947 in Qimmisuuq camp on Cumberland Sound, she moved into Pangnirtung with her family at age nineteen. Anna designs and constructs parkas of all kind and enjoys teaching others, especially young people. Her seal skin jackets were included in the cultural showcase of the 2007 Winter Games in Whitehorse. Anna joined the Tapestry Studio in 1985 and has many tapestry interpretations credited to her name including ‘Marking the Trail’ from a watercolor by Joel Maniapik, ‘Mittiralik’ from a sketch by Sowdloo Nakashuk, the 2004 “A Test of Strength” based on a drawing by Elisapee Ishulutaq, recently purchased by the Indian and Inuit Art Centre of Indian and Northern Affairs. In speaking of her enjoyment of tapestry weaving Anna says that she enjoys the cultural information aspect of the tapestries. Sometimes she learns more about the construction of garments through the imagery in the pieces. Weaving is for Anna an activity which eases her mind and makes her happy.
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