Augiak & Marlese Nijanani Novalinga

A multi-talented duo Augiak is a well known soap stone carver while Marlese is a painter, jeweller, knitter and even author.  

Anishinuit Art,  an art lover's oasls

Marmora and Lake -  The husband and wife team of Augiak and Nija Novalinga have joined their considerable artistic forces to showcase their work in stone& watercolours.
Augiak, who was born on a remote island in the eastern Arctic, spent his early years in a nomadic existence, following the game and living in tents during the summer months and the traditional igloo during the winter. His thoughtful and painstaking work, rendered in stone transported from the north, depicts the animals and birds familiar
to him. Polar bears, eagles, ptarmigans, apaks and seals, all known to him as a boy, emerge from the "rough stone under his intuitive touch.  Renowned for his expertise, Augiak's fine work can be found in collections throughout the world.

Nijanani, or Nija as she is more frequently called, is an artist in her own right. Her vivid watercolours evoke memories of her. childhood in Sanikiluaq, Nunavut. Northern lights dance across the paper forming a background for her whimsical figures and animals which speak of her aboriginal heritage. For several years her work has been featured on Christmas cards by Cornerstone 52, a Toronto-based charitable organization which each year produces holiday cards using the work of Canadian artists. Her work hangs in private and corporate collections, as well as in the permanent collection of the Art Gallery of Saskatchewan.  Nija says she paints for herself, pointing out, "I like to make people smile with my work. We all need some humour!"  (Excerpt from Community Press, Dec. 7, 2001 - Judy Backus)