Rankin Inlet (Jun 21/06) - Inuit and ceramics - the two may not be synonymous for southern art lovers drawn to soapstone carvings from the Eastern Arctic.

But the Matchbox Gallery in Rankin Inlet is working to shatter traditional perceptions of Northern art with a southern show featuring home-grown ceramic masters.

Rankin's Matchbox Gallery director Jim Shirley, left, was in Waterloo, Ont., for an exhibition of Inuit ceramics with director Robert Achtemichuck and curator Virginia Eichorn. - photo courtesy of Jim Shirley

"We want people to think of Inuit artists in broader terms," said Jim Shirley, co-ordinator of the Matchbox Gallery. The Rankin studio is one of the leading artistic co-operatives in the North.

"This idea that only soapstone will come from Inuit artists is ... outdated."

Shirley travelled to Waterloo, Ont., last week where the world-class Canadian Glass and Clay Gallery is showcasing the work of eight Rankin ceramicists. The exhibition began June 4 and is scheduled to run through the summer.

"This exposes the work to the southern public (most of whom) aren't aware there are Inuit ceramics," Shirley said.

That could be because the medium is relatively new in present-day Nunavut.

While Inuit from the Western Arctic dabbled with ceramics beginning about 3,500 years ago, the tradition didn't reach the Kivalliq until the late 1950s, Shirley said.

The biggest barrier was the region's shortage of trees, a plentiful heat source Inuvialuit used to fire their clay vessels.

Today, the Matchbox Gallery remains one of the few places in Nunavut that produces ceramics.

Shirley said many Inuit artists have struggled with the transition from solid materials, like soapstone and bone, to clay.

"It's like asking a carpenter to make a house out of butter."

Rankin's Jackie Ittigaitok is one of the few working artists who has made the jump successfully. He said last week the medium was difficult to learn, but he has come to enjoy working with clay.

"It is different from what I had been working with. It can be fun."

The ceramic artists who contribute to the Matchbox Gallery work in other mediums - including bone, stone and printmaking - because, as Shirley said: "You cannot survive on ceramics alone."

There is a small group of Inuit art collectors in the south that Shirley hopes will gain an appreciation for Northern ceramics with the Waterloo show. And while the drive to sell pieces is unavoidable, Shirley believes it's a secondary concern for most of the artists.

"You're entire life goes into ceramics," he said. "We do it because we love it. If we wanted to make money, we'd be making coffee cups."