Several things had to be considered during the process of the painting’s construction. I had a desire to include traditional Métis beadwork, an artform I knew some of my ancestors had practiced. As I had only recently begun learning traditional beadwork,
I wanted to contact a Métis elder to learn about traditional designs. My concern was the possibility of accidentally copying a sacred beading pattern or one that belonged to a particular family. When I started reaching out
to different sources, I knew the possibility of contacting an elder might be challenging. This proved to be the case when a week and a half went by, and I had yet to reach an elder. This can be a genuine challenge for individual’s
wanting to learn about their culture in city centers and something I struggle with daily. My only other option was to create a unique design based on common factors I found in traditional beadwork. Due to time constraints,
the design had to be simplified quite a bit; and I did not start working on it until most of the painting and its colour pallet had been completed. I wanted the beading to compliment the colours used throughout the painting.
The image produced in the painting is a stylistic reinterpretation of the original, and the choice to not display the original photograph of my Grandfather is intentional. Memories are not a static thing, and they often change and alter as time goes by,
so why should an interpretation of a memory be ‘exact’. The image was painted on cold-pressed watercolour paper with Winsor and Newton professional paints. After the painting was completed, the Métis beadwork was applied to
cotton muslin cut out and then appliqued to organza, a shiny opaque fabric. This created a luminous and slight hazy effect to the image. The beadwork shows a central flower blooming, with smaller vines and florals sprouting
away from it. This is a nod to the regrowth of traditional knowledge and culture in my family. A Sonder Illumination reflects my family’s history, future, and the impact individuals have on our narrative.