Hello from the Arctic Circle

[str8edg]

Good day everyone, I am so happy to have found this place.

I guess I should start with a little about me... I will try to keep it short, I tend to talk a lot :)

Name is Craig and I live in Resolute Bay, Nunavut in Canada's high arctic. About 600 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Been working in the school here going on 8 years. This is our last year this far north as we got a 18 month old boy now and he needs to be closer to family

As for ink, I have some simple script on my wrist "baby steps"

I had a small spider on my chest and a BAD band of dragonflies that I got from flash at a street shop on my right bicep :(

I had both of those covered up with a dragon half sleeve and chest plate.

I went years between the dragonflies and the dragon because I could not find an artist that I trusted. I now preach to all my students NOT to rush a tattoo. My recent work was done at Trouble Bound Studios in Newfoundland, which is where I am from and spend my summers. Pics will follow I promise when I get my good wife to take some for me.

Anyway I have been hanging out on twitter a while now @str8edg and was directed here. I am planning some more work and guess I need some guidance. Before I start spouting off questions I will dig in the archives a little and see what I can see.

Thats enough from me for now, thanks for reading... if you did :)

[dari]

Hello and welcome, nice to meet you! Whenever I hear the word Newfoundland, I picture the dog, and I love to imagine that Newfoundland is a place where they freely roam the streets in packs. Don't spoil it for me.

[Lochlan]

We interacted vaguely through twitter when Luke and Dan suggested this forum to you.....glad to see you signed up

[str8edg]

@dari and that they do Newfoundland dogs roam the vast fields of the island like wild ponys. I will send you a picture someday :)

@Lochlan I am so glad they did suggest this place to me, I have been reading non-stop! Great site and great people

[hogg]

Welcome! Very nice intro. Do you say "Where ya to?" when you answer the phone? :)

[AlannaCA]

Hi Craig!

Nice to meet you! So happy you introduced yourself! What is Nunavut like? I have a goal to take a road trip from Ontario to the east coast, I just need a buddy who's as adventurous as I am!! See you around the forum!!

[str8edg]

@hogg yes, that is exactly how I answer the phone... sheesh

@AlannaCA Nunavut is not bad, cold and dark but not bad. You get used to living here, the worst part is the isolation. We have snow now :(

[str8edg]

First snowman of the year!

[str8edg]

hmmmmm I wonder why that flickr link is broken?

snowman

[hogg]

@hogg yes, that is exactly how I answer the phone... sheesh

Haha, just kidding, of course. I had never heard that term until a few weeks ago, when a Canadian buddy of mine told me about a certain Newfie friend of his who was forever confusing him with local dialect.

[Tight-Lines]

I think my grandmothers a newfie. She's a crazy one. But we still love her.

Welcome friend.

[str8edg]

Yup Newfoundlanders are a strange breed for sure, and there are places home that I don't understand the local dialect :)

[Tight-Lines]

You should come to Oakland. Im not sure what 90% of the population is ever saying.

[dari]

and that they do Newfoundland dogs roam the vast fields of the island like wild ponys. I will send you a picture someday :)

That would be fabulous! I always had a newfoundland when I was growing up.

[Ursula]

Omg do people really live in igloos??? Do you eat whale blubber??

Hahha just kidding I'm Canadian too. I live in ontario and still get igloo questions from Americans sometimes. They're always so shocked to hear they are real and still used to this day.

Have you seen anyone in Nunavut doing inuit style tattooing? By that I mean the traditional 'sewn' method, where they dip thread in ink and pass it trough the skin with a sewing needle. I've always thought it was really interesting but haven't seen much info on it.

[str8edg]

@ursula I have not seen it done, but some of the older women (tattoos were mostly for women) with traditional tattoos.

No to the Igloos, but I have seen them built and we build them in school

yes to whale blubber, it's called muktuk and it's not bad, but not real good.

[Deb Yarian]

Hi there!

Deb - from Alaska