Ruth McKinney Burket

33.Do you have an object, which puts you under a state of stress, shame or pressure? 
For years I owned over 30 of these large gray containers filled with stuff, most of which I do not use but cannot seem to part with. Working on the Carriers and Barriers project has made it clear to me is that I imbue a lot of objects with great meaning. They cary spiritual significance, shape rituals, hold memories, and inspire creative possibilities … my challenge is knowing when and how to part with objects no longer needed or useful. I guess I must confess to having some hoarder tendencies. It has created quite a bit of clutter, taking up mental/emotional energy and precious space in my home and studio. I have always felt a sense of shame when showing people around my home due to this clutter. Last year, while working on this photography project I had to move out of the space I was storing the containers in. I am proud to say I got rid of 75 percent of the stuff. What is left is mainly useful and important and I feel a lot lighter!

Ruth McKinney Burket

31.Any thing that encouraged or enabled you to stay put in a certain state of mind? Something that proved to be an anchor, a reminder, a carrier, or a barrier?  
This little hand turned wooden jar was made by a blind craftsman in Puerto Rico commissioned by Pastor Boria who gave it to me when I was speaking at a women’s conference for her church. It contains a fragrant anointing oil applied to the forehead of people when you pray for them for healing. As I was in the process of recovering from depression at the time that I received it I applied the oil to myself daily for a season. It servedas a reminder of the following Bible verse found in Isaiah 61:3 where God promises to“…bestow a crown of beauty instead of ashes the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” I have also made a point to pray this any time I encounter anyone who is experiencing depression or heaviness. May you experience beauty, joy and praise!

Ruth McKinney Burket

28.An object, which in your opinion should never have existed in the first place?   
So many of the cheap plastic toys my children seem to find and collect everywhere we go should never exists. There are piles of them in my house. They break so easily and litter the floors. While they look nice arranged neatly in this picture, these toys are items that grate upon my nerves when I see them lying around my house.

Ruth McKinney Burket

27.A thing, which you always held dear or close, but never used even once? 

These beautiful little handmade booties were the first gift given to me while I became pregnant with my second daughter Aurora. I had them on a shelf by my bed throughout my pregnancy. It was summer when she was born and the shoes were too big for her. They fit her in the winter but it is too cold in NY to wear. By the next Summer they did not fit, so she never wore them. Three years later I still can’t bring myself to part with them even though I will probably never use them. They were made for me by the mother of a friend (someone I never met). The kindness of strangers is one of the things I find most beautiful in this world. This act of kindness from a stranger touched me so deeply and the booties remain as a symbol of that kindness.

Ruth McKinney Burket

26.An object that you always essentially possessed but never bought yourself even once? 
Blankets! all of these photographed are handmade. I love the cheerful way they adorn my home and bring comfort. I have never bought a blanket and I have so many! Some were made and given to me from my grandmother. She used fabric collected from old pieces of clothing to make patchwork quilts. Many blankets came into my possession at my marriage and upon the birth of my children. It seems to be a favorite gift to give on such occasions.

Ruth McKinney Burket

25.Any object that you instantly need to replace with a similar one (a copy or a replica) as soon as it disappears from your reality (through expiry, loss or use)? 
This hand blender is my most useful kitchen tool, used daily to produce soups, smoothies, baby food, and hiding an unwanted vegetable from my children in the form of a sauce…I have another one in the studio I use for mixing clay and glazes. It is one of my most used and favorite tools it would be hard to function without. 

Ruth McKinney Burket

23.Did you as a maker of any sort, create a fresh object, which in return started a chain reaction, or series of replicas, or was redesigned by others?  
These hexagonal plates were inspired by my Grandma Jewell’s quilts which were sown together with hexagonal pieces of cloth. I transferred some of her recipes in her handwriting onto the plates. I have done 3 more art projects since then using the same shape in the form of tiles, plant pots and dishes. I enjoy the tessellating forms and the way the hexagon serves as a building block in nature in everything from beehives to frozen water molecules.

Ruth McKinney Burket

22.Did you experience an object that helped you think out of the box? Which pushed you to discover a mind’s elasticity?  

“Be still my soul, I rest secure because you are ever present” is the first line of this crafted prayer for nighttime. The paper is stained and falling apart from its use. Every night for almost two years I have read or recited this prayer as I have fought to overcome fear and anxiety specifically related to battling intense insomnia. This poem is composed of words that are promises from God I sensed in my spirit and wrote down in the form of a declaration. “The power of life and death is in the tongue” it says in Proverbs 18:21…what we believe and what we say has the power to transform our emotions, our bodies and our circumstances. Slowly but surely I am healing. I am being transformed through this process. I am learning to take every thought captive. I am seeing a great change in my emotions and body as I apply this process to other areas of my life where there have been toxic thoughts. I am replacing them with healthy thoughts that bring life. The subconscious mind is being reprogrammed. Toxic thoughts are replaced with healthy ones. Healing is taking place.

Ruth McKinney Burket

16.Did you ever encounter an object that proved to be the only barrier between you and death? Or between your current existence and some other level of existence?

Ruth McKinney Burket

16.Did you ever encounter an object that proved to be the only barrier between you and death?

Ruth McKinney Burket

13.Is there a thing in your possession that you may call alien?

Ruth McKinney Burket

12.If you were to start a personal museum or collection, what would it contain?

Ruth McKinney Burket

11.An object/thing/dingus that offered a counter-narrative or challenge to your belief system (s)? 

Ruth McKinney Burket

10.Any man-made object that was designed so well that it had the sensitivity, balance, proportions, function or the poise of a living being?

Ruth McKinney Burket

9.An object that remains nonexistent in material world, yet exist as somehow real in your emotional, psychological, or intellectual space?

Ruth McKinney Burket

7.Did you ever raise or grow any object? 

Ruth McKinney Burket

5.An object that has a hidden past that you have always been curious about?

Ruth McKinney Burket

4.Any object that you deeply and intensely desire (d)? 

Ruth McKinney Burket

2. Any inert object you found to be physically or emotionally overpowerin

Ruth McKinney Burket

1. Who is your oldest companion from the object world?