Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services

Inuvik (July 20/01) - Every day since last Friday, artists Randy Sibbeston and John Sabourin head to the carving site outside Inuvik's Midnight Sun Recreation Complex.

The two are attending the 13th Annual Great Northern Arts Festival.

Here's a basic schedule: carve, eat, carve, mingle with other artists, carve, play music until the wee hours, catch a couple of hours of sleep and start all over again.

Are they getting burnt out?

"I'm burnt out already," Sibbeston says after lunch on Monday. "It's probably going to take me 'til tomorrow to feel normal again."

The famed midnight sun, which sends its rays into every nook and cranny around the clock, keeps the artists energized and going, going, going. They've contemplated putting up tin foil on the windows, but they figure they'd probably never wake up.

This is Sibbeston's fourth year and Sabourin's third at the festival. Asked why they come, the daddy duo -- each has a pair of young kids at home -- answer like all the artists here: "Because it's so much fun."

"It's always great to see friends that you don't really get to see, like from Gjoa Haven and Baker Lake," says Sabourin.

"And from Mexico," adds Sibbeston.

This year, the festival accepted an application from Mexican carver Gustavo Clavijo, who heard of the festival from a friend, Baker Lake carver Salomonie Pootoogook.

"It's great, it's amazing. We were out last night playing music with Gustavo and these guys from Whitehorse. We're having lots of fun," says Sibbeston.

But it's not all fun. There's an economic reality underlying all this palpable creative energy.

"Selling is part of it," says Sibbeston.

"We've got to buy materials, pay rent," says Sabourin, who has been carving full-time for the past six months.

"Selling artwork is like a part-time job," says Sibbeston. "I do commission work. It keeps me busy. It's a living. But I've been busy building my house, and having kids.

"It's just that time in my life. I've been doing survival art lately, where if I have a chance to do something, I'll just get on it. I don't have the luxury of having these sweeping, vast chunks of time where I can just immerse myself in art."

That's precisely what Sibbeston, Sabourin and their fellow artists get to do during Inuvik's festival, this year from July 13 to 22. Both say that this kind of event is a highlight in their artistic lives.

"I've never seen a gallery that compares with this one," says Sibbeston.

Inside the town's recreation complex, work by all the attending artists is on display.

"It's first class. I'd even go so far as to say it's world-class," adds Sibbeston.

And then there's the inspiration of simply watching other carvers at work, especially elders. Sibbeston believes the festival helps bridge the gap between generations, even as it assuages some of the loneliness of working solo.

"Because in Fort Simpson, we're just by ourselves, carving," says Sabourin.

"But you can only sit and watch for so long before you start getting the urge to go and grab your tools and set up," adds Sibbeston.

Both artists recently attended the Deh Cho's Open Sky Arts Festival, held in Fort Simpson for the first time a few weeks ago. They see the potential in their own region for an event similar to Midnight Sun, and recognized that it takes years and a lot of hard work to get an event this size going.

"I don't know what this one was like the first time, 13 years ago, but I do know one thing though, and that's arctic soapstone carving, carving in general, has been really, really supported by the government and by a lot of people in the past. Even in the '60s and '70s, with the co-ops and stuff," says Sibbeston.

"And a lot of the Inuit carvers are the backbone of this festival. They're the original participants in this festival. And a lot of it is because the industry already existed. In Simpson there hasn't been the same economic initiative, there hasn't been the same drive and support from the government to go forward. We're moving towards that though."