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(Music by Matt Abeysekera)
As a young boy on King Island, Sylvester Ayek learned the ways of his Iñupiat elders: hunting, foraging, and the craft of carving walrus ivory and wood. Today, he sells his artwork to support his traditional subsistence lifestyle, struggling to maintain Iñupiat ways in a quickly changing world.
For more information about subsistence living and Alaska Native Peoples sale of ivory, read the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service guidelines.
All Etsy videos are created under the Creative Commons license.
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1 Featured Comment
Tara Young from kinfolks said 5 years ago Featured
Spending the day out on the frozen Bering Sea with Sylvester was just mind-blowing. Even though subsistence seems like a hard way to live what a an incredible way to spend your days... Thank you for the thoughtful comments!
59 comments
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Sign in to add your ownMegan from MegansMenagerie said 5 years ago
Wonderful!!!
elm the person from elmtheperson said 5 years ago
:)
iammie from iammie said 5 years ago
Amazing!
OuterKnits from OuterKnits said 5 years ago
Awesome!
Amanda Gynther from CafePrimrose said 5 years ago
Fabulous video! Reminds me a bit of the native finnish population, the Sami people. They make some amazing stuff from bone and many other naturally provided materials. Beautiful video.
Jess from volkerwandering said 5 years ago
Superb!
Katrina Alana from KatrinaAlana said 5 years ago
Great video!
Lisa Giddings from LiliDMagpieCreations said 5 years ago
Congratulations!!! You do such Beautiful Work and I enjoyed the video!! :)
MARY CHRISTINE from ValentinesArmoire said 5 years ago
definitely one of my favorite etsy stories of all time... Thank you
Linda from TheHickoryTree said 5 years ago
Just Beautiful.
Stephanie from StringBeardCraftery said 5 years ago
What a gorgeous landscape! So pretty!
Breanna from untamedrose said 5 years ago
Wow thats cool :D
Dawanna Young from peacesofindigo said 5 years ago
I LOVED watching this!
Matthew Pastre from TheFederalCase said 5 years ago
Excellent,, we need more of this
Michelle from DigitalCollageSheets said 5 years ago
Very nice video!
meg loomis said 5 years ago
Thank you so much for this video and your other feature on Mabel Pike. Alaska Native culture is so often misunderstood...or overlooked. So from Anchorage - thanks!
Gracie from TheBeautyofBoredom said 5 years ago
Amazing story! I especially like the hummingbird out of the items featured. It must take a lot of patience and skill to learn how to carve. I have never been too good with 3-D art, so these items are pretty cool. Interesting how it ties in with the traditional culture as well.
Beliz from beliz82 said 5 years ago
Great video !
Hillary De Moineaux from VoleedeMoineaux said 5 years ago
This is fantastic!!!!
IKA PARIS from ikabags said 5 years ago
Just beautiful , Thanks !
Renata and Jonathan from RenataandJonathan said 5 years ago
Great video ! :)
Jeremy Taylor from TaylorFords said 5 years ago
A great and inspiring video!
Krystyn Pecora from QuirkAndSparkle said 5 years ago
Alaska is an amazing place, and you don't quite realize how different life is from the lower 48 until you get a chance to visit villages like these. When I visit, I always make a point to try and pick up carvings like these or items made out of seal skins or other furs gathered from subsistence living... I'm so glad that there is an outlet on Etsy for more people to be exposed to this and support the art work from up there!
Elisabeth Ryan from hoodwool said 5 years ago
great video thank you!
Nicole from bedouin said 5 years ago
Great video ~ inspiring patience ~ a florist in San Francisco years back I would save the stamens from lily's for a customer who carved bone and stained the etchings with the orangey amber dust.
PaperAltar from PaperAltar said 5 years ago
Beautiful video ! Thank you for sharing your world Sylvester. That is the goal - finding balance .... always & all ways.
Wei from HoneyThistle said 5 years ago
I love this :)
Jessa Cady from Spiderbunny said 5 years ago
This is a wonderful video, I love it! ^ . ^
Sara Brazil from SararaVintage said 5 years ago
Such an artist and someone who represents his culture with pride in todays world. I love when etsy features Native American artists!
VaLon Frandsen from thevicagirl said 5 years ago
Wow, amazing. Wow, sure great work. Wow.
Trina from Gallery32Photography said 5 years ago
Such patience to create those lovely pieces. Amazing what one can accomplish in an uncluttered life. Thanks for sharing :)
Rachel from 2TrickPony said 5 years ago
loved this thank you!
Tara Young from kinfolks said 5 years ago Featured
Spending the day out on the frozen Bering Sea with Sylvester was just mind-blowing. Even though subsistence seems like a hard way to live what a an incredible way to spend your days... Thank you for the thoughtful comments!
Fenella Songbird from Felala said 5 years ago
thank you for sharing your life with us Sylvester and that you for making this video .... very inspiring and humbling :)
Jason and Andie from andiespecialtysweets said 5 years ago
What a gorgeous film; it really transported us to Alaska, and gave us an instant kinship to Sylvester. Wow, what a dose of reality. What a blessing to live life, dependent on the resources that have been given us for our sustenance. Thank you for the vision, Tara and Sylvester!
Nazima Banka from nazimabanka said 5 years ago
simply stunning!
FreakyPeas from FreakyPeas said 5 years ago
wow, everyone needs to buy one of his items!
Alexandra Simons from BlueMoonLights said 5 years ago
Beautiful work!
Pamela Sweet said 5 years ago
- sadly for me ... this was too short a (video) story about a remarkable artist living in a remarkable part of the world. What was the point of this tiny documentary ... there wasn' enough info about this wonderful man? Is it all just about selling his carvings? Come-on ETSY ... fiind a better balance. He may not care but I DO! Pamela
Aaron Kish from JewelryRage said 5 years ago
Great video thank you.
accentonvintage from accentonvintage said 5 years ago
Wonderful blog!
Victoria Baker from LittleWrenPottery said 5 years ago
A beautiful video from the wilds of Alaska, I always find it fascinating to imagine how much the world has changed for tribal peoples. Holding onto traditional way of life is important I think as we all become 'the same'.
dutchgirlartist from dutchgirlartist said 5 years ago
Beautiful in everyway! You made my day quite special.
Paul Fiorello from DancingMoonLLC said 5 years ago
What a wonderful video to share with everyone. His carving abilities are amazing, great works of art.
Kate Jaeckel from orchardfarmsoap said 5 years ago
a beautiful story about a man and his life's work. we are all looking for that balance. wonderful to see his world.
Lorianne Benton from PhoenixFinery said 5 years ago
I lived in Alaska a couple years ago, and had the opportunity to work in an art gallery in Anchorage. I was fortunate enough to get to know several artists like Sylvester. Some artists carved walrus ivory, some carved whalebone, and some carved mammoth ivory when they found it. A few even made traditional beaded baskets from walrus stomachs. The best part of my job by far was getting to talk to these amazing people about their artwork and lifestyle. True subsistence living isn't for everyone, but I think we can all learn something from it. So many of the carvings had personal and spiritual meanings. The process is fascinating. Thanks for sharing this video, though it makes me miss my old snowy home!
pierce and colleen from exnomad said 5 years ago
we love the alaskan artists! we have several carvings on our site from our decades in alaska. nice video!
Benjamin Wieler from bookBW said 5 years ago
one of the best features yet, but I agree with Pamela Sweet... too short!
Lesley from LesCargo said 5 years ago
You are inspiring, Sylvester. I respect greatly the life you live, your traditional lifestyle. It is just as fine a way of life as any other, if not finer. And your creations are simply beautiful.
Megan McCarthy from SisterMadeIt said 5 years ago
Wow! Great video thanks for sharing. Beautiful !
Diane Schuh from paganpoetryshop said 5 years ago
This video is so so beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing your Art! It is really inspirational!
Oriel from foxowlroad said 5 years ago
Such a moving piece and what an amazing, gentle soul and artist. Culture is so important in this world that we share......thankyou Anaiyak for sharing with us all that you are:-) Beautiful art from a beautiful land!!
DalkullanJewelry from DalkullanJewelry said 5 years ago
Beautifully done video Tara. A wonderful portrait of an amazing artist.
Christine and Marc from TaylorArts said 5 years ago
Wow. Such a different world and yet he struggles with what all of us do--finding the balance between putting food on the table and making art. Very inspiring.
Michael and Lisa from honeystreasures said 5 years ago
Amazingly beautiful work. Enjoyed the video, very nice.
Sabrina from swaun said 5 years ago
Beautiful! It's wonderful to see such a great Alaskan artist showcased. More please.
Paula from artwinkjewelry said 4 years ago
A most beautiful story and amazing artist. A favorite story for sure!
carol fontaine said 4 years ago
This really does show all of us that beyond the shelves of convenience there exists in us all the ability to be self sufficient, and in doing so we find innate treasures that the modern world can sometimes stiffle......I will always remember this story! Thank-you.
Anna and Kenneth Gray from GraysCrafts said 4 years ago
You make beautiful work, simple and elegant. I was born in Russia, in the northern regions of it. I spent some time close to the north pole because of my work (I am an attorney and was working on a case there), among people like you. What I loved the most about them was that they would always speak their mind, just as you do. All the best with your unique store!