A dusting of floor bone flies via the air in Saelym DeGrandpré’s residence studio in Ottawa. Her masks and security glasses defend her from the hazard, however not the scent. She stated she’ll always remember it — the scent of burning antler.
And he or she loves it.
It is all a part of the method for the 23-year-old carver and on-line graphic design pupil at Toronto Movie College. She’s been specializing in make-up brushes with handles fabricated from antler. They are a nod to 2 passions: make-up and her Inuit heritage.
Now, work is beginning to achieve traction on-line — one thing she stated exhibits others have curiosity in carving, too.
DeGrandpré has been carving on and off since she was 13-years-old, however Inuit artistry has been a convention in her household for generations. Her grandmother was a textile artist who made parkas and did embroidery.
“She wasn’t a carver, however I all the time like loved the thought of carvings and seeing the carvings all through the home,’ DeGrandpré stated.
As a toddler, her household inspired her to carve small rocks, which she credit for her appreciation for the work now. She recalled a narrative she was instructed about carving that she nonetheless thinks about.
“A shaman would say that they might carve the rock, they might carry the spirit out from the rock,” she stated.
Whereas she’s switched mediums, her motivation is identical. Her brush handles maintain tales — of the lives the animals had, the hunters who caught them in Baker Lake, Nunavut, or via the normal tattoos she’s starting to experiment with etching into them.
DeGrandpré’s course of entails cleansing the antlers, reducing them with a noticed, after which sanding them all the way down to take away imperfections and to carry out the antler’s colouring. She then matches them with mass-made bristles, although she desires to experiment with making her personal from furs hunted within the North.
Gaining traction
Earlier this 12 months, DeGrandpré mustered the braveness to place a couple of photographs of her work on Instagram.
She stated the posts acquired 1000’s of likes. Images of her work had been shared in on-line Inuit communities throughout the nation.
“It is so superb to see like how many individuals have an interest within the thought of that, their make-up brushes and the way that connects like carving,” she stated.
A brand new age
DeGrandpré does her carving in a suburban Ottawa storage. Her father-in-law, Kelly Adams, lets her use the house. She’s been gifted instruments from varied relations who need to see her work proceed.
“It is one thing that I am very proud to see,” Adams stated. “It is protecting quite a lot of this alive.”
Carving has been a part of Inuit tradition since effectively earlier than settler contact. Historically, Inuit carved antlers into instruments like ulu used to chop meat, or toys for younger kids.
Adams attributed the net buzz round DeGrandpré’s work to its uniqueness. The brushes aren’t one thing he stated he is seen earlier than.
“Bringing it into the brand new age. It is one thing completely different,” Adams stated.
DeGrandpré stated the brushes are a method she will present delight in her identification — one thing she stated she’s all the time been an advocate for. She hopes she will proceed to be taught the craft and tradition from different artists and elders sooner or later.
“Storytelling and like intergenerational studying is essential to me,” she stated. “Listening to [elders] talk about tales which were handed down for like millennia feels superb.”
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