Women and Water: Woven Portraits from Around the World

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.

Water is the source of all life. In many traditional cultures, water is imbued with feminine roles and symbolism. Women are the protectors of water, because women give birth and are seen as the keepers of water. This exhibit celebrates and honors water by portraying women who work with it, protect it, and advocate for it. These woven tributes are sure to ignite thought and inspire action. What is your connection to water? What does water mean to you? What actions can you take to preserve and protect it? How will you choose to be a water advocate? Mary Burns has used her jacquard loom to hand weave 29 portraits of scientists, water-walkers, teachers, farmers, activists, poets, and healers who hold deep connections with water. Featured profiles include American conservationists Rachel Carson, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Sylvia Earle, and Indigenous leaders Wilma Mankiller, Autumn Peltier, Sharon Day, and Tinker Schuman (Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, Wisconsin) along with women from Canada, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mozambique, New Zealand, Peru, Russia, Sri Lanka, Ireland, and Wales. The essence of water is portrayed in woven panels hand-dyed with fresh-leaf home-grown indigo and other natural colors.

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