About the Artist Merle McGann-Burke - AMO...

Caymanian Thread-painting Artist Merle McGann-Burke, (nee Whorms), made her Artistic debut November 24 - December 10, 1999 at the Grand Old House, in the Cayman Islands, BWI.   

Many in the Cayman Islands know Merle for her several years in the travel business but also for her arts and crafts ideas.  In fact, some years ago she was dubbed The Doll Lady of Cayman!  Though she only does her dolls on a commissioned basis these days, she is kept busy particularly at Christmas time, being that the dolls are so personalized with children’s names, birthdates, first words, etc.  Making also wonderful gifts at the time of birth, Amo’s dolls, - not just playful or decorative, become heirlooms. 

The name Amo was attached to Merle, when her nephew Kial, as a toddler, was unable to pronounce Auntie Merle!  Amo, taken to mean  I love, became a name Auntie Merle preferred to have. 

At age sixteen, Amo taught herself to sew, and sewing has remained her hobby since that time, providing countless hours of satisfaction on jobs well done.  Making her own clothes and home décor, Amo finally moved into the art of thread-painting in 1998 with her first piece, In de Caribbean Man.  Another self taught artistic gift, which gets better all the time, extensive research has shown that the work Merle produces is a lost art, being so rare, there are only three such known artists in the Western world, of which she is one.  Indeed these artists rarely market their work being that it is so time consuming and expensive to produce. 

Asked what led her into this, Merle recalls being on a familiarization trip while still a travel agent, and entering a hotel lobby in Hawaii, where there was an exhibition of needle arts. 

“The colours were so bright and vibrant, blended with nature’s beauty, I was led into scenic observation!  And I thought, ‘I can do that’….but those pictures were done in appliqué…..not what Amo dreamed of doing.  Now I am in awe and gratitude to God, of what I do myself!  

My work encompasses every artistic aspect of painting and sewing.  As I paint with thread, I use my sewing machine like an artist uses his brush!  Except that I have to focus my attention perhaps in greater detail, being that while an artist observes a scene in front of him as he paints, I’ve got it under a presser foot.  So I’ve got to remove it, place it on the easel, observe light and colour, texture, warmth, and with precision care, I’ve got to place it again on the sewing machine….till the next step.  I have no piece that has taken less than eight hours to produce.  Some of my pieces have taken me six months, working everyday! 

You realize that each piece is an original work of art.  I cannot produce another piece exactly the same.  It never happens that I can remember where I’ve used this colour thread or a particular type of fabric.  It just doesn’t happen, and presently as I continue to establish my name, there are no prints.  I suppose those may come later, but several people have said, no to that, as they want their original, and I am gratified at the joy my work has brought to so many people.  The intensity of colour, tends to create also a 3D look, the further one is from a piece.  Commissioned to do a piece, I gather the colours and usually it helps to know where the piece will sit in one’s home.  Two of my floral pieces went to a friend’s home and it was amazing to see the vibrancy of colour as it blended in with darker coloured wild life she had in her couch fabric!  It was wonderful, particularly to see the joyful expressions of her family. 

I love all my work, they are done with love!  And they are not cheap, but consider that they will last much longer than works in watercolours or in oils. They’ll be around long after I’m gone!  I start out with a canvas, many threads of the best quality rayon, my needles, a few pieces of cloth for the background, of course my computerized sewing machine…..and look at what God allows me to produce! 

I am particulary proud of my Divine Mercy picture and the one of my Ancestral home in Germany.  There are a couple of other pieces too, which I’ve kept for myself, and these “ruffle the feathers” of my family if I dare to indicate that they would be sold!  And that’s nice.  Just my gift from God! For which I’m very grateful.   

On many occasions I have been asked to teach but I am not ready for that just yet as I establish a name for myself. Of course too, it takes a special person to put in the dedication, time, perseverance, eye for colour and design, plain simple love, to bring after countless hours, a dream to reality.

I bow in awe and gratitude to God."