Toronto Star

Art from the heart

Mary Commanda crafts custom dreamcatch­ers and, in the process, shares her knowledge of Indigenous culture

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So much Indigenous knowledge is disappeari­ng as elders die off, but one Toronto artist is using her work to help keep tradition alive.

Mary Commanda, who is Algonquin, from Algonquins of Pikwakanag­an First Nations, initially made dreamcatch­ers as a kid at a day camp. Decades later, while toiling away at an unsatisfyi­ng corporate job, she looked for something that would relieve the drudgery. “I had no artistic or creative outlet,” she says. “Being a creative person, I was finding that a difficult state to be in, especially when the job was becoming more and more stressful.”

So, she returned to the dreamcatch­ers of her youth. “Creating is almost like meditation,” she says, “and the satisfacti­on of having a finished piece at the end is really great.” These finished pieces are also gorgeous, one-of-a-kind and now in-demand via her Sticks and Bones Studio, run out of her Regent Park apartment. Commanda describes her art as “kind of bohemian, asymmetric­al but balanced. I feel comfortabl­e in chaos, and that comes out in my work.”

She crafts her dreamcatch­ers out of mostly natural materials like crystals, bones, skulls, metals, feathers and deer leather. “It is really important to me to source materials in a manner that fits my business’s ethics,” she says, “so I try to source directly from my reserve. If I am not able to find what I need there, I will try another reserve. If that doesn't work, I will reach out to another Indigenous business, then a small local business.”

She also uses branches, which she sands by hand. “The branches are so satisfying to do,” she says. “I spend a lot of time walking in the forest, picking unique fallen branches. It’s so awesome to bring home a grungy, dirty branch and clean away all the age and dirt.” Most of her pieces are custom commission­s, so she’s also able to include personal items, such as a stone or feather. She once even incorporat­ed a client’s baby’s umbilical cord.

“What really brings me joy is the connection with my customers and just people in general,” she says. “I have an opportunit­y to share my culture and history, along with my art. It also gives people the opportunit­y to connect and learn about Indigenous culture in a respectful way.”

Commanda enjoys hosting dreamcatch­er and moccasin workshops for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. “There are so many Indigenous people who have lost the connection with their culture through Canada’s policy of disenfranc­hisement,” she says, “so it really is an honour to play a part in re-establishi­ng that connection.”

As for the knowledge she shares with non-Indigenous folks? Commanda ensures her workshops — she held them in Riverdale Park during COVID-19 lockdown and is now searching for an indoor venue — are safe spaces in which to learn. “I am a strong believer that understand­ing and openness is an important step to reconcilia­tion,” Commanda says. “It gives us all the opportunit­y to connect and see the world through different perspectiv­es.”

There are so many Indigenous people who have lost the connection with their culture … so it really is an honour to play a part in re-establishi­ng that connection.

MARY COMMANDA

 ?? ?? METALS & FEATHERS
METALS & FEATHERS
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 ?? STICKS AND BONES STUDIO ?? To relieve the stress of her corporate job, Mary Commanda took to creating dreamcatch­ers, or protective charms, out of natural materials.
STICKS AND BONES STUDIO To relieve the stress of her corporate job, Mary Commanda took to creating dreamcatch­ers, or protective charms, out of natural materials.

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