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Pushing paper on the streets

Kent Driscoll
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Nov 27/06) -His tell-tale call makes Markosie Tiglik stand out from the masses in Iqaluit's street art market.

When Tiglik says, "Print," he rolls the "r" so much it sounds like he is purring.

Tiglik moved from his home in Pangnirtung to Iqaluit six-and-a-half years ago, and he's one of the hardest working people in the print game.

Every day from 5 p.m. until midnight, the 28-year-old walks to restaurants and bars, selling his stencilled prints. He makes seven or eight prints a day, and sells most.

He cuts the stencils from wax paper - at his sister's home in Iqaluit - and spends the rest of his time applying them to canvas and paper, all for the tourists.

"Tourists for sure. The middle of the summer is the best time," said Tiglik.

When he left Pangnirtung with his Grade 10 education, there were fewer people hustling prints in Iqaluit.

"I was speaking Inuktitut then, but English now. I need more education. I left Pangnirtung because there were no jobs up there, nothing to do. It's kind of different here now, there are more people selling (prints)," said Tiglik.

"People are good about it, no one gives me a hard time," he said of his soliciting in the establishments.