When we lived in Nuuk I took a night class in carving tupilaq. This was my first attempt. 😉
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When we lived in Nuuk I took a night class in carving tupilaq. This was my first attempt. 😉
I’m impressed!👍🦴
And generous with your comments. 🙂 I used a hobby drill, and the smell of hot reindeer antler was… interesting. 😉
Hahaha it is isn’t it! Now many of the workshops have well-ventilated rooms, but I’ve visited a few artisans who still just work covered in reindeer antler dust.
Cool! I like it!
I hope you don’t mess with it. It’s nice to look at as is. Have you seen Wendigo by Larry Fessenden? Or the follow-up The Last Winter? Your carving doesn’t look anything like the one in the films but I guess just the idea of a totem related to an endemic mythical creature got me thinking of it while looking at your tupilaq carving. I guess you’ve probably read The Terror by Dan Simmons? I thought it was incredible. Tupilaq and Tuunbaq are pretty much one and the same as far as I understand. Here’s a link to my review of The Terror:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/398148863
Thanks, Michael. I haven’s seen the films you mentioned, but yes, I love “The Terror”! I mean, that book just sucked me right in. the whole supernatural element was just what I was looking for. Nice review, by the way. 🙂 You might like (or have even read) The North Water by Ian McGuire. It’s a similar Arctic read with bloody and horrible elements but no supernatural stuff.
Thanks! Haven’t read The North Water yet but it’s been on my tbr’s for awhile now. Thanks for the rec! Wish there were more Arctic reads with supernatural elements like The Terror!
That’s really well done, Chris! I especially like the teeth, and the feeling of danger they give off ! It’s just the type of ‘objet d’art’ I’d love to have sitting on display on my bookshelf! Good job!
Are there further ‘attempts’ you could show us??
The ‘further attempts’ were snapped up by my mum on a recent visit. 🙂 I say snapped up, but there may have been an element of charity involved. But I’ll dig through the hard drive and see what I find. This could be a case of careful what you wish for. 🙂
It’s not as easy as the artisans make it look, huh?! I’ve had a few goes at making my own – once in Nuuk (a Thule man) and once in Tasiilaq (an Inuit woman hair spike). The control some of the artists have is truly amazing!
And my personal collection of Tupilaks continues to grow slowly. I’m very particular with what I buy – but I love all my pieces.
Hi Lisa! I made a Thule man in Plasticine (FIMO, I think) but never tried in bone. But yes, I have a very small collection of Tupilaq. The trick was not to buy “everything” but to go after the things that really stood out.
In the category of “shameless plugs”, Michael, I might be tempted to mention my own book The Ice Circus. I mean, there’s a floating head, a ‘dragging corpse’ and a bloody enormous walrus to name a few things. Oh, and Franklin is mentioned. I really, really must get around to writing book 2! 🙂