Yellowknife (Mar 19/04) - People often ask Martin Goodliffe how he can create such tiny, detailed jewelry with such big hands.

Those big mitts of his are capable of carving an ivory inukshuk less than an inch long.

Goodliffe explains the attraction of making jewelry by comparing it to cooking.

"If you cook a beautiful meal, everyone sits down and eats and then it's gone," he says.

"With jewelry, when you're gone it's still out there. You can leave your mark. It's great to see somebody wearing something that you've made."

Goodliffe spends his mornings crafting jewelry at Arctic Artists Direct and his afternoons as a recreation co-ordinator at Yellowknife Correctional Centre, where he sometimes teaches art to inmates.

"It's very good therapy to sit and spend time on a piece," he says.

Goodliffe began his carving career making baseball bats out of cedar railings as a child in Ontario. When he moved to the NWT 23 years ago, a man in Inuvik gave him an antler and told him to "go try stuff."

Goodliffe bought a few tools and made a back scratcher out of the antler. He was still a beginner, though. His rings turned out square, and his birds looked like planes.

He's gotten better over time.

"It's all about patience," he says, turning a tiny ivory inukshuk over in his palm.

He holds out the small carving and examines it carefully.

"It's not a large piece, but it took about 12 to 15 hours to carve. It's like a discipline. It's nice to see what comes out of things when you work hard enough."

When Aurora College began offering a jewelry and metalwork program, Goodliffe saw an opportunity to learn new skills, and combine metalwork and carving to create something different.

The course, taught in Inuvik by Gail Hodder and Darren White, trained artists in metalwork techniques like chasing (engraving), piercing, riveting and soldering.

Goodliffe graduated from the two-year course then went on to tie for the artists' choice award at last year's Great Northern Arts Festival in Inuvik for jewelry and metal work.

Goodliffe said the NWT, and the Yellowknife area in particular, is a rich source of precious metals, and precious and semi-precious stones for the budding jeweller.

"We need to learn how to take stones and turn them into Northern themed jewelry," says Goodliffe.

Sit and watch

So far he has set only one NWT diamond -- a 0.4 carat gem from the Ekati mine he was commissioned to set in a ring made of mammoth ivory. He carved a sleeping bear and placed the diamond in the small of the bear's back.

He appreciates when couples put their faith in him to create engagement rings or wedding bands.

"It's a sacred trust," he said.

Goodliffe likes dealing with people one on one, and the fact that customers can walk into Arctic Artists Direct, ask for something like an ivory ring, then sit and have a coffee and watch while it's made.

That's why he had his work table specially made out of plexiglass, so people can watch him do his delicate work.

This summer he hopes to start offering short workshops where he can teach people the basics of carving by helping them make a ring they could take home afterwards.