Lake Harbour (Apr 24/06) - "I am always happy when a carving is complete; even though the carving cannot move on its own, it seems to have a life of its own."

Davidee Itulu, seen in Kimmirut with one of his carvings, died April 15. Itulu was one of the last scrimshaw workers in the North, adding finely detailed etchings to walrus tusks. - photo courtesy of Jackie Callen

On April 15, Davidee Itulu, the foremost carver in the artistically-rich hamlet of Kimmirut, succumbed to cancer at age 76. The previous words are his, translated from Inuktitut, his only language, for his showing at the National Gallery in Ottawa in 2005.

Itulu was one of the last scrimshaw artists in the North, etching finely detailed illustrations into walrus tusks, the style learned by Inuit from the whalers and traders of the 19th century.

His daughter, artist Elisapee Itulu, said some of her earliest memories are of Davidee working with full walrus tusks, his favourite material. She returned home to care for her father when he became ill.

Davidee was born June 4, 1929, at Tujjaat, near Cape Dorset, into the traditional, nomadic Inuit lifestyle that was already fast disappearing in the North.

"He used to tell me that when he was growing up in the iglu, he would draw on the windows." Elisapee said, still serving as Davidee's calm ambassador and interpreter.

She said Davidee's interest in art grew as he aged, as he began to carve and make prints. It was in Cape Dorset in the early 1950s that Davidee would be introduced to scrimshaw by legendary artist, filmmaker and author James Houston.

Christine Lalonde, curator of Itulu's National Gallery showing, said his finely-crafted art took many by surprise in the way it combined traditional and contemporary elements.

"It was unexpected, and yet not," she said. His illustrations of Inuit life would blend naturally from bow-hunters to rifle-hunters, all set on a detailed Northern landscape.

Like many artists of his generation, Itulu served as a link between the traditional past and the modern present in his art, as he "brought it from the 20th to the 21st century," Lalonde said.

"He didn't just continue an older tradition," she said, "He rejuvenated it, he innovated with it, and he really made it his own."

Brian Lunger, manager of the Nunatta Sunakkutaagnit museum in Iqaluit, where many of Itulu's pieces are on permanent display, said the artist's work "documented everything he saw in the past and in the present."

He said that scrimshaw's decline moved in tandem with the strong limits placed on the ivory trade. As walrus tusks became harder to transport and sell, he said, fewer artists chose to work with them.

Despite the decline of the art form, Lalonde believes there is hope for scrimshaw's future.

"I would hope that his art, which is still seen in museums and galleries, would inspire younger artists," she said.

To that end, Elisapee said Itulu's eldest son, Kulula, had begun to work in scrimshaw and she was considering it herself.

"I have never tried," she said. "But sometime soon I am planning to try.

"We'll see how it goes," she said with a chuckle.

Davidee left behind a wife, Eva, daughters Elisapee, Lucy, Lau St. Laurent, Lallie and Leesee, as well as sons Kulula, Charlie, Jimmie, Terry, Tommy and Mark.