The stories we carry

Afaf Janjua

As an artist and Chair of the One & Only Arts and Crafts Fair (sponsored by Action Sandy Hill), I feel privileged to help organize an event that brings together local artists and neighbours.

Creating gemstone bracelets is my own form of art. I call my bracelets Cosmic Reveries. Each one brings a small reflection about curiosity, resilience, joy, self-discovery, or simply a reminder to pause and appreciate where we are in life. I hope that when someone wears one, it becomes their own little reminder, too.

Gemstones are created slowly. Deep within the earth, minerals are transformed through pressure, heat, and time. What begins as something ordinary becomes something unique, shaped by forces that are invisible yet powerful.

I have always found that idea fascinating: some of the most remarkable things are formed through difficult circumstances. Perhaps that is why I have always been drawn to the stories hidden inside ordinary things.

A stone. An old house. A street walked on for decades by generations of people. Everything around us carries traces of the people, moments, and experiences that came before us—if we take the time to notice.

My partner and I often talk about this while walking through Strathcona Park and the streets of our Sandy Hill neighbourhood. We think about all the other people who have walked these same paths before us. John Turner, Canada’s 17th prime minister, grew up in Sandy Hill and walked these streets as a young man. He recalled former Prime Minister Mackenzie King also walking his dog here, and the two of them sitting together on a bench in Strathcona Park.

How many conversations have taken place along these roads? How many lives have unfolded inside the houses we now call home?

In our house on Somerset Street East, we have hung a piece of artwork painted by the lady who lived here for more than 30 years before us. Seeing her work on our walls creates a quiet connection between strangers who have shared the same space, separated by time.

For me, that is what art does: it connects stories.

When I moved to Canada about six years ago, Sandy Hill was one of my first homes. As a newcomer, I arrived carrying a dream: to build a life shaped by my own choices. Some people believe gemstones carry meanings rooted in ancient traditions. Amethyst has long been associated with clear-headedness, agate with protection, and jade with prosperity, good luck and clarity of mind.

Being an avid skeptic, perhaps to my own detriment as a natural gemstone small-business owner, I prefer to think of the meaning as something we create ourselves.

I am grateful for the warmth I have received from this community. I look forward to meeting my neighbours and fellow artists on November 14, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Sandy Hill Community Centre for the One & Only Arts and Crafts Fair.

Together, we can celebrate the creativity within our community and share the stories behind the things we create. We hope