Fred Iyak Trimble

Trimble grew up on the land hunting and trapping with his mother who was a significant part of his life. Encouraged by his mother, who Inuit ancestors came from the Alaskan side of the border of Demarcation Point, and by his father who gave him art tools and supplies as a young boy, Iyak sold his first carving at the age of twelve [1]. The pieces he makes are a similar size and weight to a musk ox. This way the sculptures are fairly accurate to represent the animal when he makes them out of soapstone.

Iyaks’s imagination and skill seem boundless and prefers to carve and sculpt using detail and precision to depict wildlife [2]. Since 1999, the Inuvik Regional Hospital has had Iyak’s piece The Blanket Toss in the permanent collection. The sculpture is located at the front entrance and the piece demonstrates the celebration of the blanket toss.  Each figure is sculpted around the blanket and Iyak elevated the figure in the center. His realism and attention to detail are not unnoticed.

Trimble’s works have been celebrated and sold throughout Canada and various other countries. He graduated from High School in Inuvik and won both the Golden Hammer for his superior accomplishments in industrial arts and the certificate for achieving the highest marks in senior art. Iyak is an active member of the Great Northern Arts Festival since the beginning. His piece was a featured poster in 2005.