Author Archives: J Peachy

June is Indigenous peoples month in Canada and we are happy to have renown indigenous artist, storyteller and carver, Simon Winadzi James join us. Simon talked about how his art connects his culture and family and that he has been an artist for over 30 years and brought an old growth cedar Raven mask thatContinue reading “The Story of Kolus and creating a mini Canoe Paddle”

On this day the classes from Cook Elementary walked from the school to Garden City Park. The classes were broken into groups to familiarize, identify characteristics a number of local plants that are common local indigenous to the area. Acting like young citizen science observers, they drew their interpretations on paper. Groups , shared whatContinue reading “Garden City Park Plant Identification”

Continuing with the bird knowledge the students have learned through story and craft and with the skills developed in needle felting is the creation of hanging eco sculptures. Working with additional natural foraged material to provide additional depth and shape, Yolanda led the young hands taking needle felting to another level. Yolanda explained her lowContinue reading “Eco Sculpture creation”

In the final workshop of this phase we continued with the bird theme building on the story of how the birds got their colours by Simon James. The young hands got to work on creating their own hand crafted birds, the used sand paper, small hand tools, wood burner, clay and feathers to assemble theirContinue reading “Wood crafting and Winter Solstice”

Over two workshop days, Yolanda Weeks (Yo) and Jay Peachy introduced students to Yo’s artistic nesting project. Exploring what migration means to them, both in connection to the natural world and their personal flight path, each child created their own little nests. We started off by getting to know the materials, hemp fiber and woolContinue reading “Nesting and Migration”

In addition to the Bird and Colour storytelling by Simon James the kids ventured outside, we walked the field to seek birds nests in the surrounding trees and were challenged to stay quiet and listen for bird calls amidst the surrounding noise of the urban landscape. Each child was encouraged to pick up a stickContinue reading “Fall Harvest”

In the first session of the Fall, Indigenous Artist, Carver and Storyteller Simon Winadzi James (Kwak wakw ‘wakw) shared with the students via zoom a Crow and Raven story told by his great grandmother. It was a time when the creator was first giving colours to birds. Crow was excited to get its colours andContinue reading “Birds and their colours with Simon Winadzi James”

On Saturday September 25th our friends from Urban Bounty, Casa Meshiko Dance Society and Red Fox Healthy Living Society, joined in a small community celebration part of culture days. Kwak kwak wakw artist Simon Winadzi James led children with carving and shared a story. Urban Bounty served delicious Rosehips and Nettle tea and showcased theirContinue reading “Garden Party Gathering”

The Four Directions Canoe Garden installation was inspired by the diverse community at Cook Elementary and in acknowledgment of migratory human journey. Many of us have come here the lands originally inhabited by Indigenous peoples, recognized as Coast Salish Territory and the ancestral home of the Musqueam people. The four directions is an Indigenous pedagogyContinue reading “Planted from Four Directions”

Led by Pat Calihou and JP the young artists were introduced to Red Cedar and Holly. Western Red Cedar is known as the Tree of Life by Coastal Indigenous peoples because of its versatility. Holly is an introduced species and known as an invasive plant. The young hands were each given a piece of cedarContinue reading “Working with Cedar and Holly wood!”