Ningeosiak Ashoona

(1979 - )

Date of Birth : 20 December 1979

Place of Birth: Iqaluit (Frobisher Bay)

Residence: Cape Dorset

Style Description: Distinctive style. Simplistic, yet strong but can be delicate and graceful depending on the subject matter. The transformations are creative and fantasy-like. Her replicas of vehicles or chairs are realistic, in proportion and functionality.

Artist Development: Ningeosiak, the youngest daughter in the family, says that she was taught to carve by her father and mother. She started carving at 13 years of age. Ningeosiak is one of the most prolific young female carvers in Cape Dorset today and one of the very few women who carve. She has also tried drawing but it did not hold as much appeal for her as carving did. Ningeosiak uses both hand and power tools. The power tools allow her to speed up her production, but she needs the hand tools to do fine work. Carving is time consuming, but because her family depends on the income from her artwork, she must hurry up the process.

She does not have the past as a frame of reference for her work; she values the comments people make about her work because they help to give it meaning. She much prefers creating new subjects to repeating old ones, unless a particular subject matter is in demand.

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