The Seven Grandfather Teachings

Saturday, March 18
1:30 to 4:30 pm
FREE, advance registration required
MacLaren Art Centre, The Carnegie Room

Join us for an engaging afternoon to learn about The Seven Grandfather Teachings. Initiated and led by Dazaunggee (Paul Shilling), four regional artists responded to an artistic “Call to Action” and will present their interpretation of each teaching— from their own unique, cultural perspective. The third teaching of Humility will be explored. A Q&A session will follow. All are welcome. Funded by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Who We Are
On the one hand, we are all the same.
And on the other hand, we are each completely unique.
We are born into culture through women to experience
What it is to be a human being.

The four sacred colours – red, black, white, yellow
Are gifts so that we may live according to their original teachings.
Teachings of how to enjoy ourselves and each other as human beings,
With a beautiful respect and honour for life and for our mother the Earth.

Prejudice and hatred are outdated tools designed to divide.
Wake up from fear and ignorance, embrace courage
And enjoy the gifts bravery has to offer.
Let us, together, celebrate ourselves and each other.

– Dazaunggee (Paul Shilling)

Dazaunggee (Paul Shilling) is the youngest brother of renowned Indigenous artist, Arthur Shilling. Following his oldest brother around, Dazaunggee (Sky Buffalo) learned to put his thoughts on canvas and in poetry and has become a renowned artist in his own right. He has taken up the elder’s task of bringing spirit and culture to the forefront, emphasizing traditional arts, crafts, and philosophy as healing, and learning tools. Having gone through much of the “system” from an early age, Dazaunggee has dedicated himself to learning and transferring traditional knowledge to the youth of his band and to others willing to listen. He is the lead artist in this proposed project.

Ted Fullerton’s body of work possesses undercurrents of human emotion and mystery. Many of his explorations have dealt with themes and myths revealing his concern with spiritual and magical worlds. For Fullerton “mythic symbols are entry points to the unconscious.” Through these devices he investigates the duality of human nature, the tension between the rational and the illogical, the physical and the spiritual, the intellectual and the intuitive. Whether he is working in oil, printmaking, sculpture, or mixed media drawing, in intimate or monumental scale, Fullerton’s creative process is spontaneous and gestural with sensuous and bold texture, line and movement. – Mary Reid, Director/Curator, Woodstock Gallery, Ontario

Xavier Fernandes is a Canadian artist based in Orillia, Ontario who has been woodworking and woodturning since 2018, producing over 550 pieces in this short time. He has been creating works of art for over 30 years, using various paints, drawing tools, digital images, graphic design, and music videos. Also working in 3D, he has done body paint, clay, stone, metal, and wood, among other media. He was involved in three Somniatis Wearable Art Shows in Orillia, and the Call 83 Truth and Reconciliation art shows, that are on display at St. Paul’s Centre in Orillia. His work can be found at Peter Street Fine Art Gallery and Studio in Orillia’s Arts District.

Julie Chǔ Níng Tián is a self-taught Chinese-Canadian artist. She was born in Northeastern China and immigrated to Toronto with her family at age seven. Julie uses art as a way of exploring her queer and Asian diasporic identity, and to share her imagery with local communities in Toronto. She works mainly with graphite, pen and ink, mixed paint, digital illustration, and embroidery. She speaks English, Mandarin, and French and has done workshops with Riverdale Hub and Asian Community AIDS Services focusing on self reflection and gratitude through artistic expression. She is on the board of an artist co-operative based in Chinatown called Tea Base.