One heart at a time, Fredericton Grandmother's art tribute
Karen LeBlanc sews a running stitch into a heart -- she says it makes her think of all the steps Indigenous children took on their way to residential schools.
The Fredericton grandmother is not a member of the Indigenous community, but her granddaughter is Mi'kmaw.
"It was pretty hard and I kept thinking that I'd like to do something but I don't know what, and I woke up one morning at four in the morning and I went, I know what I have to do, I had been making these other little hearts that I sell," said Karen LeBlanc.
A fibre artist by trade, LeBlanc says the hearts represent hope and healing, so she started giving them away.
"I started doing them a few weeks ago when I part of a fibre arts network residency for the city so it's kind of, it's a project that keeps expanding," she said.
LeBlanc and her granddaughter took the hearts to a local park this week and handed them out to strangers to spark conversation and remembrance of the children who were lost.
"I want people to hang them in the trees and to think about a child because there was so many children that died in residential school alone and I don't know I just have this sense that I want people to send light and love to a child," LeBlanc said.
It's been a way for LeBlanc to bond with her 6 year old granddaughter, Araminta.
"Minta said yup you can hang it on a tree, I was so proud of her she got right into the project I think it meant almost as much to her as it means to me," she said.
LeBlanc plans to hand out her next batch of hearts this Thursday in front of Fredericton city hall during a noon concert, and at the Boyce Farmers Market on Saturday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Gunman kills 19 children in Texas elementary school shooting
An 18-year-old gunman opened fire Tuesday at a Texas elementary school, killing at least 19 children as he went from classroom to classroom, officials said, in the deadliest school shooting in nearly a decade and the latest gruesome moment for a country scarred by a string of massacres. The attacker was killed by law enforcement.

Clean up, power restoration efforts underway after destructive Ontario storm
Crews are working to restore power to more than 150,000 Ontario customers who are still without hydro after a deadly storm swept through the province on Saturday.
Language law Bill 96 adopted, promising sweeping changes for Quebec
Bill 96, the provincial government's controversial legislation aimed at protecting the French language in Quebec, has been adopted in the National Assembly.
Biden makes urgent call for new firearms restrictions after Texas school shooting
Lamenting a uniquely American tragedy, an anguished and angry U.S. President Joe Biden delivered an urgent call for new restrictions on firearms Tuesday night after a gunman shot and killed 19 children at a Texas elementary school.
Sandy Hook senator begs for gun compromise: 'What are we doing?'
Connecticut U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, who came to Congress representing Sandy Hook, begged his colleagues to finally pass legislation addressing the nation's gun violence problem as the latest school shooting unfolded Tuesday in Uvalde, Texas.
U.K.'s Johnson 'humbled' but wants to move on from 'partygate'
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other senior officials bear responsibility for a culture of rule-breaking that resulted in several parties that breached the U.K.'s COVID-19 lockdown rules, a report into the events said Wednesday.
Society 'may not survive' Putin's war, says billionaire George Soros
Russia's invasion of Ukraine may have marked the start of "a third world war," and Russian President Vladimir Putin must be defeated "as soon as possible" if the world wants to preserve civilization, said billionaire and philanthropist George Soros.
Donald Trump-backed challenger loses Georgia primary
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp defeated his Donald Trump-backed challenger David Perdue on Tuesday after a furious push by the former president to punish Kemp for not overturning the 2020 election results. Kemp's victory sets up another general election race against Democrat Stacey Abrams, who was unopposed in her primary.
Conservative leadership candidates meet in Quebec for party's French-language debate
Candidates running for leadership of the federal Conservative party will appear on stage tonight for its French-language debate.