Dame Rivina Grande

Dame Rivina Grande is a personification of the entire Grand River Watershed.
I grew up on this watershed. As kids we spent lazy summer afternoons playing around Clair Lake over by Centennial Public School in Waterloo. We spent hours climbing those great Willow trees, hanging out on the branches extending over the water.
Clair lake is on Clair Creek which meets up with Laurel creek which is the creek that runs under Waterloo’s uptown core. It winds its way through Waterloo, popping up here and there, until it joins the Grand River at Bechtel Park.
The entire river is made this way. It has no single source. It is made of small rivers, creeks, and tributaries that all combine to make the wide river that winds through the six nations.
The history of the settlement of the watershed is the history of Canada which I did not learn until I created an art project about it. Dame Rivina Grande is the signature piece of the project which consists of 10 soft sculpted cloth art dolls that tell the story of life along the river.
As depicted in this great Dame’s outfit, the land at the top of the watershed is rough, marshy and not suitable for farming. As the river flows south toward the lake at Port Maitland it becomes tamed and structured so Rivina’s skirts show a field like pattern with the river itself running down the centre.
The largest watershed in Southern Ontario the Grand River is home to not only diverse flora and fauna but also diverse people. Dame Rivina Grande celebrates this by commencing her Watershed Dance.