Remarkable Drawings

Manawatu Times, Volume 65, Issue 1, 2 January 1940, Page 5

Remarkable Drawings

compli nted and unusual drawings, submitted by Mrs. Berta Sinclair Burns, of Wellington (New Zealand), an untrained artist, to a recent exhibition of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts, so impressed critics by their exotic originality, rhythmic power and high artistic quality, that they made further investigations and found that Mrs. Burns I.ad executed them under the direction of a spirit guide named “Zara.” Mrs. Burns’ story is a remarkable one. She claims that she is called by “Zara,” who l urports to be an ancient Egyptian artist, at all sorts of odd times during her daily household duties. Any note of secrecy is entirely absent from the conditions of Mrs. Bums’ work; and she herself tries to approach these “fourth dimension” phenomena as scientifically as possible. When Mrs. Bums submitted her drawings for exhibition, the Academy was not biased by the written intimation that the offerings were spirit drawings done under “control.” They hung them for their artistic merit. The story of their origin leaked out, and Mrs. Bums and her strange gift stirred public interest. The hundreds who saw those pictures and the thousand and more who saw a later exhibition of Mrs. Bums’ work at Auckland were profoundly impressed by the “unearthly” quality of ihe work. Mrs. Bums has been clairvoyant as long as she can remember. She is of Highland descent on both sides of her family, but it is only since 1932 that she has been making psychic drawings. “Zara,” whom Mrs. Bums claims is her spirit guide for these experiences, came naturally into her life then, as she does these days into the midst of her housework. Guide Was Persistent. Suddenly requested in 1932 to make a drawing, Mrs. Bums did so, although, as she puts it, her native ability to use brush or pencil would not have helped her make a respectable drawing of even a “jelly bean.” The result—a drawing of

New Zealand Woman

a curious little flower. Scientificallyminded Mrs. Burns scoffed to herself, “What utter rot!” and pitched the queer thing into the wastepaper basket. “Zara,” however, was persistent, and a few days later, when Mrs. Bums again obeyed the curious request “to draw,” she four " herself doing strange and remarkable drawings and all at “terrific speed.” A feature of the pictures was normality of the work conditions. Mrs. Burns can gossip to neighbours cheerily while she executes these amazingly beautiful drawings. The only condition -necessary seems to be that she shall not concentrate on what she is doing once the spirit takes control of her hand. “I gave up a few minutes nightly for about three months, being interested in the research aspect of the fact,” she said, “and each night a different and more wonderful drawing was given at a speed impossible of ordinary human accomplishment. At no stage have I had any idea of what the design \.as to be.” Another striking feature of the work is that the ideas are worked out on paper instantly. Those who have seen Mrs. Bums under the control of “Zara” have been astonished at the fluent accuracy of her hand, which does not hesitate for a second, but continues at top speed, until the drawing or painting is finished. In the years between 1932 and 1938, “Zara” came only seldom, but this year she became insistent and instructed Mrs. Bums to buy some pots of “cheap ticket paint.” The work she subsequently turned out with this paint provided some of the most beautiful exhibits of her highly successful exhibition, held recently at Auckland. • Mrs. Bums does not claim any meaning for the drawings. She believes that their greatest significance is in their manner of execution, which, she thinks, is an endeavour on the part of someone on another plane to give proof of a “fourth dimension” or spirit world, of which mankind, so far, has learned little*