Inuit moves into Alberta

Presentation get artist national exposure

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An expression of goodwill was extended on October 16 when Inuit artist Qiliqti Jaw presented Premier Don Getty with an original painting she has done. The presentation was performed at the Premier's office.

The picture is entitled "The Hunter," and was done in acrylics on canvas, which is a recent paint medium to this young artist who comes from a family that is well noted for their Inuit art.

Getty, actually a connoisseur of landscapes, was visibly impressed and said "I like it already" as he viewed the painting. It is the first piece of northern art for the premier.

More recently, Jaw also made presentations of her art to the Toronto Maple Leafs and to the prime minister, Brian Mulroney.

On November 5, she personally presented one of her works to the Edmonton Oilers Hockey team. Accepting on behalf of the club were coach Glen Sather and all star great, Wayne Gretzky.

Sather himself is a collector of Inuit sculptures and has four or five of them. As an avid sports fisherman, he often trips up to the eastern arctic for trophy-sized Arctic Char he says, and that is when he picked up various pieces of Inuit art.

Born and raised at Cape Dorset, NWT, Jaw is the youngest of eight children. Through her extended family, she is related to several prominent Inuit artists including her uncle, Pudloo Pudlat, who is considered by many to be the number one Inuit artist.

In the spring of this year, Jaw moved to Alberta which she found to be quite a change for her. After all, a move from the desolation of the treeless tundra to the lush green forests and prairie grasses of Alberta is a most radical shift.

She now resides at the Blue Quills Education Centre near St. Paul where she is an artist in residence and her husband is the principal. Recently, she completed a western art tour in which she sold out her 82 original paintings. Jaw has not made any prints of her works.

On December 4, Jaw is scheduled to have a one person show at the Bearclaw Gallery in Edmonton. The artist will be on hand from 7 - 10 p.m.