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