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. I was digging through a box and found one of her keychains which immediately led me to that moment in time where I remembered my grandmother meticulously working on her beaded key chains. What I took from this experience is this; imperfection makes us unique and sets us apart from everyone else. Just like that one odd bead, it is a part of a greater story, but without it, the story cannot be told.
