Man Spirit

This is a sculpture of an Inukshuk.  Inukshuk is a word of the Inuit people meaning:  Inuk-man, shuk-like.  Inukshuks are composed of several round body rocks and a flat shoulder rock.  They stand as lonely wind-worn sentinels on the Arctic tundra.  Sometimes they are used in series to indicate routes across the sparse landscape, they mark the Arctic Circle at trail crossings, and they were once used in rows along the ridge top to act as a kind of scarecrow helping to force caribou herds into hunting areas.  Perhaps more than anything, they are spiritual, and fiercely symbolic of the Inuit spirit and the struggles of mankind against the harsh Arctic environment.  This piece, “Man Spirit” is carved from a single piece of green alabaster (See the base for the original stone) and attempts to convey the spiritual power of this uniquely Arctic icon.