Rachel Nokadlak
Northern News Services

Inuvik (July 18/05) - Nineteen years after its creation, Fred Iyak Trimble's carving Faces of the Shamer graces this year's Great Northern Arts Festival's poster.

With his special carving-cup full o' joe always at his side, Inuvik carver Fred Trimble shows off one of his latest carvings "Fish." He hoped to have the piece ready for the Great Northern Arts Festival, which used one of his sculptures as the face of the festival.

Made of whale bone, the two foot long carving stands 12-inches-high with faces carved from black and brown soapstone.

"I am so proud and truly honoured that my carving, my work, is on this year's Arts Festival poster. The whale bone is very hard to work with because of its sponge-like structure and it is very hard to get much detail into it, and I like detail."

Kristina Wilsdon, festival co-ordinator, said a committee made the decision of which carving to pick for the poster.

"We picked this carving because it represented both stone and bone and it really appealed to everyone. The style was perfect for a poster and it has great quality."

Trimble, who attended the first three festivals, did not return until last year, the 16th incarnation.

Born and raised in Inuvik, Trimble is the only one of his four brothers and sisters who carves.

"I saw my father carving (when Trimble was 12), and I think it was a bird, so I tried to make one like it, and since then I never did stop carving." said Trimble.

Close to 30 years later, Trimble estimated that he has created thousands of carvings, give or take a few, which can be seen all over the world.

Known for the muskox he creates, Trimble said he finds inspiration from the shape of his materials.

"Mother Nature made the shape of the rocks, a while after I look at the rock I can already see the art inside of it. All I've got to do is chip off the extra pieces."

Now living in B.C., he usually works on five or six different pieces at a time to keep his interest up.

"When ever I get bored with a carving I just move on to another one, and keep doing that until they are done."

Claiming that he'll never stop carving, the craftsman occasionally switches directions and works on jewelry or visual arts.

The work isn't any less painstaking though, he explained.

It takes as much time to make a piece of jewelry as it does a full-sized carving.

To get a glimpse of the veteran sculptor at work or view some new pieces, which are collected around the world and on display in Canada's largest cities, stop by the festival where he's certain to draw a crowd.

The festival began Friday and continues until July 23.