Day Three (Toronto)

It was the third day of Open Spaces Gallery and there were three people taking part in the gallery space. Our guest Bonnie, Ojibway artist and art educator, chose to share some knowledge on beadwork. As a ritual for the opening of the Open Spaces Gallery ritual, we again marked off the rented space with sidewalk chalk. Also, the painted Iroquois Flag (babystroller) serves as an Open Spaces Gallery territorial flag. ON this occassion of the performance I came with turf builder to pour on the cement as a method for growing grass. As per Bonnie's instructions, traditionally, a First Nation person will ask permission from inanimate objects of nature in the form of a prayer before receiving. So, the three of us reached into the turf builder with our left hand, by using the left hand allows the prayer a connection to the heart. With each spread of the turf builder, we would ask the cement to grow grass in its place.

For the rest of the performance Bonnie led Morena and I in decorating the current Open Spaces Gallery territorial marker. The process included covering the painted Iroquois Confederacy Flag with a white fabric and then adding three individual sections of beading, one for each of us. This process was so much fun for me because it was unexpected, educational and I just really liked collaborating and creating something new outside. At this moment, I think next week we will continue the process of decorating the Open Spaces Gallery territorial marker with more beadwork. There could even be some grass growing.