Penny Burns
"Postmarked"
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| (Photos by Patrick Fraser) |
My piece depicts me as a figure and represents some of the paths I have chosen in life. My base path began with books. As an only child, books were my friends: affirming my imagination, teaching me, and providing an escape from a simple life. Books were a way to dream and to dream big.
The grasshopper feet are reminders of how much time I spent in the fields collecting insects. Grasshoppers were my favorite. I practiced the ‘catch and release’ method.
The skirt of my figure is comprised of correspondence from 1969 to 1974 (from the summer we met to two years before I married the love of my life). We were only kids but we spoke the same language. I couldn’t believe I found someone who thought the same way I did. We lived an hour apart so letters were our best way of communicating. These letters are the fabric of our relationship, reflecting who we were and how we constructed our lifelong friendship. I made collages of our letters, printed them on fabric, and embroidered some of the words.
The bodice is made from a partial shell, the torso from a clarinet, and the arms are made of shells collected from beaches around the world. In the hands are three shell-like beads that represent our three children and the black discs in between represent our four grandchildren. The mask and beads that make up the head are from Kenya and Tanzania where my husband and I volunteered for nine years for various therapeutic art projects focused on orphans. It was a challenging and wonderful experience.
The figure’s body and head are open to represent all the wonderful pathways that are still to come.