Hay River (Aug 04/03) - The Great Northern Arts Festival in Inuvik recently was a rebirth of sorts for caribou tufter Brendalynn Trennert.

Despite the fact that she had taken a five year sabbatical from tufting, the 34-year-old Hay River resident took home the festival's coveted People Choice Award for Traditional Art.

"It meant so much for me to win the award after being away for so long," said Trennert, one of the few caribou hair tufters in the NWT.

"You could give me a brick of gold and it wouldn't be worth as much."

Caribou tufting is a painstaking process that takes years to master. Tufters take dyed caribou hair and weave it onto a velvet or leather surface, creating intricate designs.

Trennert took up caribou tufting in her mid-teens and by the time she was in her early twenties, she was doing it professionally.

But the demands of being a full time artist -- which included travelling up to 10 months a year -- began to wear her down.

"It got to the point where I just needed a break," she said. " I was looking for a more normal life."

So in 1997 Trennert unceremoniously put her needles down and withdrew from the art world.

It wasn't until last fall that she decided to take it up again. Trennert says the main reason she went back to tufting was to teach others.

"I have a gift," she said. "It wouldn't be right to let it go to waste. If I can keep the tradition alive by teaching then that's what I have to do."

Originally, Trennert had planned to get back into tufting slowly, but as it turned out, her artistic rebirth has come at a breakneck pace.

She offered workshops at the Inuvik festival, took on new students and produced several new pieces. She'll also be heading to Russia at the end of August to teach aboriginals in that area the art of caribou hair tufting.

"Hopefully, I'll be able to pass the tradition on and maybe even provide the (Russian aboriginals) with a skill that they can benefit from economically," she said.

Even though she makes a comfortable living, Trennert says she's not driven by money.

"You can't do something like this if all you want is money," she says. "It can be a painstaking process, and unless you're committed, the end result will suffer."

That passion has made Trennert one of the most recognizable tufters in the NWT. She is renowned in art circles for her modern take on what is a traditional craft.

"When I grew up, most caribou tufters only made flowers with five petals. That was considered the traditional design. But I wanted to expand the boundaries."

Trennert's body of work includes landscapes, animal scenes and abstract art. "Even when I do flowers, they have six petals," she joked.