Years ago, I asked my grandmother, a wise Mohawk woman why her beaded key chain she handcrafted had a missing bead in her beadwork? Her response, “I always leave a bead, or put an entirely different coloured bead in my beadwork to remind me that no matter how beautiful my work is, it is not perfect. It will never compare to the grand perfection of the natural world we live in. The world so many people forget to be a part of.” It wasn’t until after her passing that I begin to reflect on my time with my grandmother.
