A Piece of the Puzzle

This year's Olympic medals are also unique (see post, A New Wave) in that each one includes a different design, yet is part of a bigger whole.

The master artwork features an original West Coast aboriginal design of an Orca whale and was created by Corrine Hunt, a Canadian designer and artist of Komoyue and Tlingit heritage. From this artwork, each medal includes a cropped portion of the piece. Each Olympic medal winner will then also receive a silk scarf with the full image printed on it, to allow them to see how their medal fits in with the larger whole.

According to the designer, she used native traditions to guide the design. From a CBC news release in October 2009:

"The orca is a beautiful creature that is strong but also lives within a community. I felt the Olympic Games are a community, too, " said Hunt.

"The athletes may be training but they're always somehow connected to their community, to their teammates, or to their country. The orca is a creature that has wonderful capabilities but can't really survive without its pod," she said.

Check back tomorrow for more details on the Olympic medals.