Artwork copyright Lawrence Ulaaq Ahvakana. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Fancy Ruff, 1997

Lawrence Ulaaq Ahvakana
American | Inupiat (born 1946)

Location: Quil Ceda Elementary, Tulalip

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Inupiat (Native Alaskan) artist Lawrence Ahvakana hand-carved the sculpture Fancy Ruff from Utah Alabaster, a soft stone that can be finished with smooth and rough areas to create different tones and textures. The title "Fancy Ruff" refers to the traditional Parka worn by Inupiat women on special occasions, made from wolf, wolverine, and squirrel fur.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with .

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Native Alaskan artist Lawrence Ulaaq Ahvakana (Inupiat) creates sculptural artworks representative of his Inupiat culture and symbols. He is inspired by the oral histories and legends passed down through his family. Ahvakana spent his childhood in Barrow, Alaska, part of the Inuit Nation that spans from Siberia in Eastern Russia, to Greenland in Northwestern Europe. He states, "My first introduction to the Arts was watching my mother, who is a very competent skin sewer... The dances and songs of the Inupiaq tradition is the oral history of my people. It is the emotional interpretation of our respect and involvement within the environment of the North Slope of Alaska." Ahvakana earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Sculpture and Glass Arts from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 1972. He is a graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Cooper Union School of Art in New York City. He lived in Suquamish, Northwestern Washington, for many years, and is currently based in Alaska.