Sharing Indigenous teachings and providing an opportunity for students to create art that supported mindfulness and well-being were all part of a project at Sylvia Fedoruk School.

A beading project led by artist Aurora Wolfe was an important piece of learning for two classrooms of Grade 8 students who were discovering historical and current-day work of Indigenous artists.

"This was an opportunity for students to learn about Indigenous culture by trying a new way of art making," said art teacher Christine Loewen. "Many of these students have studied Métis dot painting, which is inspired by beading, and the process of beading influenced students to take a deeper look into Indigenous ways of art making and reflection."

Inviting Wolfe to share her knowledge and art through a hands-on project complemented students' learning about contemporary artists Christi Belcourt and Leah Dorion. Both artists use dot painting to represent traditional beading in their artwork and their art is a commentary that shares their history and culture. The students also did a research assignment on the artists recognized as the Indigenous Group of Seven and created a drawing to represent their artwork.

Wolfe taught the class basic beading skills and how to bead a keychain of their own design. She shared her heritage and background and spent one-on-one moments with students to know them personally.

"The majority of students thrived in this new learning opportunity. Our school did not have beading supplies or someone who knew the knowledge to share, so this was a new shared experience ," Loewen explained, noting the experience was a positive way to support student well-being by incorporating it into learning.  

"Beading was a challenge as it requires precision and patience. However, during the creative process of beading, the repetitive motions led the students to feel calmness. This type of artwork is necessary for any age group as it goes along with promoting mental health activities within the school. It gives students the opportunity to create art and relax. It gives them a break from chaos and allows them to express their emotions through art and focus on breathing."

Funding from SK Arts provided the school with the opportunity to bring Wolfe into the classrooms and establish a relationship between the school and artist that will be strengthened in coming years. Loewen said she is thankful for the support provided to Sylvia Fedoruk and the way SK Arts' funding allows art education teachers to broaden programs and provide unique opportunities for students.

The experience allowed students to engage with Indigenous knowledge and touched multiple curricular outcomes around learning new art skills and unfamiliar styles and researching Canadian Indigenous artists whose art shares their stories, culture, and teachings. The opportunity to learn and bead with Wolfe was, Loewen said, a highlight for both teacher and students.

"Our Indigenous students opened up to me about their lives while beading and I made deeper connections with other students while I beaded alongside them, too," she said. "I had many students tell me they loved the opportunity; they thought it was relaxing and enjoyed their art while beading. A particular student that normally does not fully engage in arts education class shared he really enjoyed beading and demonstrated full engagement while beading to complete their project."