Photo of Penny with Jocahu, in the Fountain Cavern.

Drawing in color pencil of 'Zemi' greenstone carving.

• Drawing in pencil of 'Zemi' stone.
• 'Zemis' are 3-pointed 'fetishes' that the Arawak Indians used as spirit holders.
• In the period from 1984-93 I studied and drew many archaeological artifacts from the Caribbean islands. Living in Anguilla where much of the island had not been developed, the spirit of the Arawak Indians was very present. We built our home close to the Fountain Cavern, the only intact ceremonial cave sanctuary in the Lesser Antilles. We immersed ourselves in the archaeology of the islands and as I began drawing the various artifacts, I started seeing portraits of the people behind them. As time went on, I realized my vocation on the islands was to give form to the near extinct Arawak Indians, their spirit and their art. In doing the studies of the art and artifacts, I began to see images of the people behind the objects and art. I started making sketches of the visions I saw, which were sometimes inspired by photographs of Indians related to the Arawaks of the islands. These sketches became the Arawak series of paintings, featured in my video, 'Visions of the Arawaks'. Again, as with the drawings for 'Sexual Secrets', doing these 'in-depth' studies of the art provided a doorway into the spirit that lay behind the art.