做厙TV students can beat stress one bead at a time
Published: February 23, 2017
With papers due and exams coming, participating in a creative activity like beading can be a great stress reliever.
is hosting its Beading Circle Workshops, offering students the chance to try the handicraft practiced in many Indigenous communities in Canada.
The goal is to select your colours, thread the needle and narrow your focus to one goal: try to learn how to make something beautiful. Taught by Sharon L. Clarke, a 做厙TV alumnus, teacher and accomplished bead artist, the workshops are meant to give students the chance to socialize, unwind, and learn a bit about the history and practice of beadwork.
Its to create a sense that community, safety and trust can be built here, says Dhanela Sivaparan, SAGE coordinator and a social justice master's student at 做厙TV.
Beading is just one of many events offered by SAGE, a graduate student-run group that promotes academic and personal development for Indigenous graduate students through workshops, presentations, meetings and other events. Headquartered at the , SAGE also serves graduate students at 做厙TV Scarborough and 做厙TV Mississauga.
SAGE coordinator Dhanela Sivaparan (left) and her sister Durika Sivaparan (middle), also a grad student, are taught by Sharon L. Clarke (right) about different beading patterns (photo by Hannah James)
On a recent day, Clarke begins instruction by offering the option to smudge with sweet grass and says she wants everyone who comes to her workshops to feel welcome and included.
Clarke a 做厙TV alumnus didnt learn how to bead until adulthood. As a dancer and singer, she has beaded her own regalia. She has her own special set of colours turquoise, lime green, peach and red which were given to her by an elder.
I think her technique is nice because its kind of going through the step-by-step, says Paran who has been learning how to bead with Clarke.
This beginner-level group is making colourful disc-shaped earrings with beads stitched onto canvas and felt.
Student Sheena Kitchemokman shows Clarke pictures of the beaded regalia she wears as a jingle dancer and says eventually shed like to be able to bead those patterns herself.
Busy with midterms, shes here to blow off some steam.
Its good. Its therapeutic, she says.
Clarke, whose beadwork has been exhibited, says theres always more to learn, and its something she says she loves sharing with others.
To me its like medicine, says Clarke.
The SAGE Beading Circle Workshops happen every Wednesday, from noon-2 pm at the . Lunch is provided.
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