Ancestral Women: Portraits of Elders from the 12 Tribes of Wisconsin

Textile Art by Wisconsin Artist Mary Burns

Mary Burns is an award-winning artist whose work is inspired by the natural world and those who protect it. One of only a handful of weavers in North America with a jacquard loom in her studio, Mary “paints” with cotton yarns barely thicker than sewing thread, hand weaving with as many as seven shuttles through over 1,300 individually controlled warp threads. By marrying the raw elements of nature—cotton fibers—with this highly technical process, Mary captures the essential spirit and purpose of her subjects. These two unforgettable exhibits are being shown together for the first time.

This exhibit of 23 textiles honors women elders from each of Wisconsin’s 12 Native American tribes. These are women who have held families and communities together; women leaders who have kept traditions, cultures, and languages alive. Mary Burns collaborated with elders, their families, and their communities to choose and honor them with portraits based on their photographs and stories, paired with clan symbols and culturally important landscapes that reflect the rich life of the woods and waters of their homelands. “One of my teachers said, ‛Listen and practice the skills of your art every day so that you can hear the work when it speaks to you, and you are ready to do the work.’ This work spoke to my heart and still speaks to me. I hope it speaks to you as well… This work is dedicated to all women who have carried the light before us.”

Funded in part by grants from the Green Bay Packers Foundation and the Kenosha Community Foundation.