It seems fitting while we mourn the loss of Pitaloosie Saila from the artistic community, that we celebrate her work with one of her most popular subjects, women. Saila’s use of understated shading and texture, which can normally be found in her drawn works, is not lost in this stenciled print. What could easily have been a flat image of a woman’s summer clothes is subtly curved and shaped to the wearer.

From a southern and Inuit perspective, clothing remains a distinctive feature of Inuit culture. Traditionally, for women, it represented one’s abilities for creativity and craftsmanship. Pitaloosie herself commented, “I remember how Inuit used to live, thinking of them back then, my relatives. I also recall how the clothing was made; that is what I base my drawings on when I draw people” [1].