Daron Letts
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Sep 19/05) - Silversmith Beth Biggs just stepped into the hockey history books.

Governor General Adrienne Clarkson commissioned the co-ordinator of the Nunavut Arctic College arts program to design and create the Clarkson Cup. The trophy will honour excellence in Canadian womens hockey. Clarkson announced the honour last week.

"Everyone at the college is overwhelmed and excited," Biggs said. "It's an amazing thing to happen to me, to the college and to Nunavut."

Ten students and about nine graduates from Biggs' classes will assist in the process.

"I want this to be an inclusive experience with a real feeling of coming together," she said. "I want everyone involved at the college to be able to point somewhere on the cup and say 'I did that.'"

This fall, Biggs will do research and design ideas in consultation with Clarkson, who steps down as the head of state later this month.

Biggs calls this the "fantasy" stage of the cup's development, during which she'll imagine all the possible forms it might take.

That's followed by the "reality" stage.

Over the winter, Biggs will create the final designs, conforming to time and budget constraints.

Her materials will include sterling or plated silver. She'll have $5,000 to $10,000 and a June deadline to work with.

The final stage of the process is the "scramble" stage, she said. That's when the metal is finally hammered into shape and polished to a drop-proof shine.

"I've never made anything this significant or this large before," Biggs said.

Biggs describes herself as a strong advocate for feminist values. Much of her artistic work is steeped in feminist analysis, she said.

She recently completed a 17-inch handmade silver saborium for a female Catholic priest.

In recent years, womens hockey has achieved new levels of popularity and respect.

The Clarkson Cup is meant to continue that trend by inspiring young women in the same way the Stanley Cup motivates young men on the ice. Lord Stanley, Governor General from 1888 to 1893, donated the Stanley Cup to be awarded annually to the top amateur mens hockey team in Canada.

He purchased the decorative bowl from a London silversmith in 1892 for about $50.