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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Joe Ashoona is part of one of the most prominent and prolific Inuit carving families in Canada. Today he is continuing the tradition attached to his family name.

Joe Ashoona is continuing the Ashoona tradition as he makes a name for himself as an accomplished stone and bone carver. - Daron Letts/NNSL photo

"I grew up all around artists," he said. "My parents have been carving for a very long time and I've always watched them. Growing up in Cape Dorset, I always used to watch my grandfather do his thing."

Joe's grandfather, Kiawak Ashoona, is a first-generation Inuit carver who has been recognized with the Order of Canada and other prestigious citations. His mom, Goota Ashoona, and his father. Bob Kussy. are also prominent carvers.

Joe started carving whale bone at age eight in Cape Dorset.

"I wasn't making them to sell, just for fun," he said.

But he did sell a piece at that young age – a face carved in whalebone. At 14 he started carving more seriously and two years later he had some work in the Gallery of the Midnight Sun in Yellowknife. He has since had pieces carried in Yellowknife galleries Northern Images, Lil' Bear's Den and Birchwood Gallery.

Much of Joe's work builds on the style and themes practiced for decades by his grandfather. Joe's shamanic creatures are reminiscent of the magical realism expressed in Kiawak's famous work. Joe is also getting recognized for his snowy owls and polar bears, which are inspired by the work of second cousin Koomuatuk "Kuzy" Curly, who Joe also learns from.

Carvers from around the North visit the Ashoona Family Studio in the NWT capitol, offering Joe an artistic and commercial education right on his own doorstep.

"This year Joe's artwork has improved five-fold," said his father Bob Kussy. "He takes the returns from that and helps out at home and at the shop.

Joe Ashoona completed this carving of two bipedal polar bears in the summer. - Daron Letts/NNSL photo

He's everything that a young Canadian urban Inuit artist should be."

Joe also uses money earned through his art to help with healthcare costs for his twin brother, Sam, with whom he shares his time off.

Joe is assembling a collection in hopes of showcasing the works as a member of the 2010 Winter Olympics Canadian Cultural Events Program.

At the age of 20, Joe said he knows that carving will be his life's work.

"I just want to keep on carving," he said. "It's what I do. I'm always going to carve no matter what. It's always been around me and it's always going to be around me."