Billy Merkosak

Pond Inlet, Nunavut

Inuit legends or stories, Carving

Billy grew up in Pond Inlet. He has always been interested in caving and often watched other people in the community making things out of soapstone and bones when he was growing up. He had numerous jobs as a teenager but found that carving was what he liked doing best and started to pursue it, and taught himself how to carve. Not only does he carve, he also does ink drawing and acrylic painting. Billy likes to make the Inuit legend stories come alive in his carvings. He also carves and draws animal transformation and life experiences into his works. He has sold many of his carvings and drawings to galleries throughout Canada and worldwide. He continues to work on his art in Pond Inlet and lives there with his family.