Germaine Arnaktauyok
Biography
Germaine Arnaktauyok is renowned for her talents as an illustrator and master printmaker. The daughter of carvers Therese Nattok and Isidore Iytok, she started to draw on any material available while still a young girl in Igloolik. When she was sent to residential school at Chesterfield Inlet at age nine, she met a nun who gave her art lessons. Germaine sold her first painting at age 11.
Since then she has participated in a variety of courses including one year at the University of Manitoba in the Fine Arts program and studied commercial art at the Pembroke Campus of Algonquin College in Ottawa. Germaine has also completed a printmaking course sponsored by the Arctic College and Arts Induvik Canada. She is one of the few Inuit artists with formal art training.
While in Ottawa Germaine Arnaktauyok also illustrated children's books for Northern and Indian Affairs. Her illustrations are also included in children's books from the Baffin Divisional Board of Education, as well as Hyperion Press in Winnipeg and for Nick Nicol, a Canadian author published in Japan.
Prints
Single plate print with soft-ground and open-bite etching, a la poupee and chine colle. Printed on Somerset White.
Image size: 8in by 9.5in
Paper size: 10in by 11.5in
Edition of 60, 15 AP's
3 plate etching with aquatint, and soft ground lift. Printed on BFK Rives White.
Image size: 8in by 9.5in.
Paper size: 10in by 11.5in.
Edition of 60, 15 A/Ps.
Two plate intaglio etching, hard ground etching and surface roll.
Image size: 2in by2in.
Paper size: 6in by 6in.
Edition of 60, 15 A/Ps.
3 plate etching, hard ground and aquatint with burnishing. Printed on BFK Rives.
Image size: 21in by 28.5in
Paper size: 24in by 31.5in
Edition size: To be determined
Print Process and Production
Germaine applying nitric acid to create the clouds
Inking up a portion of the plate to test colour combinations
Testing different colour combinations of the full image
During printing the yellow plate is printed first. At this stage, the paper has been trapped and the second plate (red) has been place in position to be printed.
At this stage, both the yellow and red plates have been printed. The third plate (a combination of black, blue and brown) has been placed into position for printing.