INUPIAQ MYTHICAL FIGURES
Personal Work
For generations after first contact, anything that was mythical or magical in any way in our culture was condemned and squashed and most of our vibrant story telling was almost lost. We are now in the part of history where we are emerging from that darkness. I love drawing these mythical and magical creatures, they are so unique and are a very important part of reclaiming our cultural identity.
TRADITIONAL USES OF NORTH SLOPE PLANTS
Book illustrations
This book is definitely a little different than most of what I normally do. In a previous life I was a Marine Biology major in college and was deep into the science scene with goals to become a science illustrator.
This book was created from start to finish by our Native corporation in an effort to preserve knowledge of our traditional usage of wild plants. I learned SO MUCH and I am forever grateful to be able to be part of this project.
My contributions included technical botany driven drawings, plant usage drawings, photos and anecdotes.
This book is not currently available to the public. It will be available later in electronic form.
MODERN INUPIAQ ILLUSTRATION
Personal Work
I love exploring more modern Inupiaq themes using older references. Mixing old and new is always a surprise.
INUPIAQ LEARNING FRAMEWORK
Education Illustration
One of the most personally fulfilling projects is this one. The Inupiaq department, led by Pausauraq Jana Harcharek, was looking for an image that encompassed a lengthy list of Inupiaq Values to use as a visual for the Inupiaq Learning Framework. This image was used to teach Native values across the whole entire school district.
Click the image to listen to a video of Pausauraq explaining the meaning behind each icon.