The Sentinels

This piece features an owl and an Inuksuk sitting side by side in a lonely spot on the tundra.  Both are Arctic icons, depicting loneliness and the spiritual nature of the northern tunralands. 

The Snowy Owl is the most common owl of the Arctic area and is pure white during the winter months.  It has forever been the symbol of wisdom.

Inuksuk, is a word derived from two others:  Inuk-man, suk-like.  Inuksuks are composed of two hip rocks, 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 ridgetop to act as a kind of scarecrow helping to force caribou herds into hunting traps.  Perhaps more than anything, they are spiritual, and fiercely symbolic of the Inuit spirit and the struggles of mankind against the harsh Arctic environment.