Threads
I have no personal memories connected to weaving. I was too young to remember if my birth mother ever weaved in front of me. It’s possible she never weaved anything for herself. It’s also possible she weaved everything she wore. Who’s to say?
What I do have is an undeniable feeling of “rightness” when I have the wool in my hands and begin moving the threads around to form those first few lines. It feels like I’m reconnecting to something I’ve lost. There might always be a barrier between me and the Peruvian heritage I left behind, but while I’m weaving I feel like it’s lifted for a brief moment in time.
That feeling is very precious to me.
MONICA McKEAN
My name is Monica McKean and I’m Peruvian (Quechua). I was born in Lima, Peru in the Ate-Vitarte district during the time of Shining Path. I was later adopted by my mother and brought to Canada when I
was 2 1⁄2 years old. I left behind an older brother. Like him, I was renamed when I was adopted, but have since used my birth name as
a way of staying connected to my Peruvian heritage and honouring my birth parents.
My first step into the arts and the unique community of creative people within was through Rainbow Youth Theatre with Carol Coulson and Mike Butler. I can’t thank Carol enough for nurturing this young creative spirit.
Currently I’m learning and developing my skills as an artist at North Island College and hope to graduate from the Fine Arts Diploma program in the years to come.