Fiber artist weaves portraits of global water protectors

[gentle music]

Mary Burns: I have a very deep-seated love of water. I just feel really blessed to live along the Manitowish River. I’m Mary Burns. I am a fiber artist. I love to weave. I’ve been a weaver since I was 17.

Mary Burns: When I’m at the loom, it feels like a spiritual experience. It’s really deep within me. It’s something I probably couldn’t live without.

[river rushing]

Mary Burns: Without water, none of us would be here. I saw that women across the world were doing wonderful work advocating for water and not getting the recognition that they deserve. It was time for an exhibit to honor these women.

Mary Burns: We have 29 portraits. Scientists, oceanographers, activists, Native American water walkers. Grandmother Josephine Mandamin-ba walked around each of the Great Lakes. She walked the length of the Mississippi. She was an amazing voice for water and for women.

Mary Burns: Through this high-tech Jacquard weaving, I can tell more stories. I can put so much detail into these weavings that you can look at Rachel Carson and you know that’s Rachel Carson.

Mary Burns: I start with a combination of photographs and drawing, and I simplify it because I can’t weave the thousands of shades that are in a photograph. And I wouldn’t want to. I mean, I want this to be an interpretation. So this would be the lightest value here. In her hair here, it’s the darkest value.

Mary Burns: When Nafisa Barot from Gujarat, India, witnessed people dying from lack of water. And it was so appalling to her, as it would be to anybody, but she took action.

Mary Burns: Monica Lewis-Patrick is considered the water warrior of Detroit. The cost of water was going up astronomically. People were having their water shut off, and she organized to fight that. And they’re still working to make it a right for people to have access to fresh drinking water.

Mary Burns: Some of these women are so brave. I mean, it just humbles me what some of these women have done. In Honduras, Berta Cceres organized peaceful protests to safeguard sacred waterways. They murdered her.

Mary Burns: In Honduras, over 100 environmental activists were murdered. In her weaving, I depict her with her mother. Because her mother was her greatest inspiration. They worked to bring international pressure to bear. Well, they were able to stop the dam.

Mary Burns: I’ve been getting wonderful response. A lot of emotional response. People are very touched by the women and their stories. It’s important for people to see that everyday people can make a difference. The stories of these women should help people start to take those steps.

[gentle music]