Artist Talk: Mary Burns
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Women and Water, Woven Portraits from Around the World
Exhibition Dates: May 20 – July 29
Artist Talk: Thursday, June 25 | 6–8pm | Carlson Hall
Artist Statement:
A Native American saying, “Water is Life,” is simple, direct and true. For me, water has always been sacred. But it was through getting to know Mildred “Tinker” Schuman, an Ojibwe Elder, and many other Native women when weaving my Ancestral Women Exhibit: Wisconsin’s 12 Tribes (2016) that I came to understand their deep reverence for water. In many traditional cultures, women are the protectors of water, because women give birth and are seen as keepers of water. Beginning with North American water keepers and water walkers, the ideas for an exhibit celebrating women and water spread as I found more and more people across the globe doing important water advocacy and work. They included farmers in Mozambique, oceanographers, a sea captain in the Kingdom of Tonga, artists, journalists, limnologists, a conservation biologist in the Arctic, and activists in Detroit, India, Peru and Honduras. All of these women, and many others, are doing essential work for water, for the planet and for us.
The exhibit features 29 woven portraits representing 39 women and 20 countries, plus the Arctic and Antarctica.
In many cultures, fiber arts are seen as a traditionally feminine craft. Creating these portraits through a woven medium reflects the often-underestimated power and importance of women’s work.
I am blessed, honored and humbled to do this work and am so grateful to the people of Women and Water: Woven Portraits from Around the World. They are role models of strength, fortitude, sacrifice and love.
May these women and their stories encourage all of us to strengthen our own ties with water and inspire actions to protect our waters.
Mary Burns Bio:
Mary Burns is an award-winning fiber artist and master weaver. Her work has been shown internationally. Mary’s latest exhibit Women and Water: Woven Portraits from Around the World, features women who work with and for water across the globe. The exhibit is composed of 29 woven portraits of 39 women from over 20 countries, plus the Arctic and Antarctic. Mary’s Ancestral Women Exhibit features woven portraits of an elder from each of Wisconsin’s 12 Native tribes along with 12 complementary weavings. She weaves custom-designed jacquard weavings and wall pieces in addition to felting, natural dyeing and eco-printing. Mary has participated in numerous science and art collaborations beginning with Paradise Lost? (2006), which examined the impacts of climate change on Wisconsin. She has been an artist-in-residence at Andrews Experimental Forest, Oregon, as well for the University of Wisconsin Trout Lake Limnology Station. She teaches various fiber arts workshops. She and her husband John Bates also lead nature tours.
Exhibition Dates: May 20 – July 29
Artist Talk: Thursday, June 25 | 6–8pm | Carlson Hall
Artist Statement:
A Native American saying, “Water is Life,” is simple, direct and true. For me, water has always been sacred. But it was through getting to know Mildred “Tinker” Schuman, an Ojibwe Elder, and many other Native women when weaving my Ancestral Women Exhibit: Wisconsin’s 12 Tribes (2016) that I came to understand their deep reverence for water. In many traditional cultures, women are the protectors of water, because women give birth and are seen as keepers of water. Beginning with North American water keepers and water walkers, the ideas for an exhibit celebrating women and water spread as I found more and more people across the globe doing important water advocacy and work. They included farmers in Mozambique, oceanographers, a sea captain in the Kingdom of Tonga, artists, journalists, limnologists, a conservation biologist in the Arctic, and activists in Detroit, India, Peru and Honduras. All of these women, and many others, are doing essential work for water, for the planet and for us.
The exhibit features 29 woven portraits representing 39 women and 20 countries, plus the Arctic and Antarctica.
In many cultures, fiber arts are seen as a traditionally feminine craft. Creating these portraits through a woven medium reflects the often-underestimated power and importance of women’s work.
I am blessed, honored and humbled to do this work and am so grateful to the people of Women and Water: Woven Portraits from Around the World. They are role models of strength, fortitude, sacrifice and love.
May these women and their stories encourage all of us to strengthen our own ties with water and inspire actions to protect our waters.
Mary Burns Bio:
Mary Burns is an award-winning fiber artist and master weaver. Her work has been shown internationally. Mary’s latest exhibit Women and Water: Woven Portraits from Around the World, features women who work with and for water across the globe. The exhibit is composed of 29 woven portraits of 39 women from over 20 countries, plus the Arctic and Antarctic. Mary’s Ancestral Women Exhibit features woven portraits of an elder from each of Wisconsin’s 12 Native tribes along with 12 complementary weavings. She weaves custom-designed jacquard weavings and wall pieces in addition to felting, natural dyeing and eco-printing. Mary has participated in numerous science and art collaborations beginning with Paradise Lost? (2006), which examined the impacts of climate change on Wisconsin. She has been an artist-in-residence at Andrews Experimental Forest, Oregon, as well for the University of Wisconsin Trout Lake Limnology Station. She teaches various fiber arts workshops. She and her husband John Bates also lead nature tours.
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Where is it happening?
511 Groveland Ave, Minneapolis, MN, United States, Minnesota 55403
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
Host or PublisherHennepin Avenue United Methodist Church
