Inuvik (July 30/04) - Swept up into the spirit of the Great Northern Arts Festival, Inuvik Summer Day Camp kids decided to do some creating of their own.

Day-campers including, from back, left to right, Trevor Thrasher, Colton Kuptana, Paisley Van Vleet, Raven Firth, Corina Saturnino and Ashley Gully got into the paints and created masterpieces like the mural behind them.

With the help of several artists attending the festival, the youngsters received some expert instruction on mask-making, soapstone carving and drawing.

"I think the kids got inspiration from touring the art show and watching the artists work," said counsellor Jessica Gnyp, who helped organize the concurrent kids' art-fest.

While the day camp provides supervised activities for the approximately 60 kids who attend each day, its usual regiment of sports and recreational pursuits was replaced with a little art appreciation -- and creation.

For day camper Ashley Gully, pretty much everything about seeing the Great Northern Arts Festival was exciting.

"It was cool," she said. "There were lots of nice pictures and I saw some nice mukluks, but what I liked most was the eagle painting."

Partial to birds, as well, was Corina Saturnino.

"My favourite was a carving of a raven where the wings joined together over its head."

Following the kids' tour of the gallery and special workshops which carried on throughout last week, day campers were turned loose to create.

And their inspiration, in the form of murals, drawings and masks, got their own special places on the walls around the recreation centre.

In one particular workshop, students were asked to draw a picture of a dream they've had.

Day camper Raven Firth produced a colourful piece complete with unicorns -- a species known to dwell in dreamland.

"The two unicorns here are mine," said the young artist pointing to her work. "This is me playing in the bush with my friends Ashley, Brianna and Jacinta."

But where did the unicorns come from?

"Oh those, they came out of the sky."

According to day camp staff, there are still several spots available for kids.

Day camp programs run through to the end of August.