Finding joy in the absurd: Savannah artist hosts Sweet 16 party for a cheeseburger
It’s time to get out your sequins and ruffles, tease out your hair (or freshen up that mullet), find that ruched dress, and insert those shoulder pads á la Joan Collins in Dynasty or Linda Gray in Dallas… Patty is turning 16 and you’re invited to an '80s prom in her honor.
If you have not yet had the pleasure of meeting Patty the cheeseburger, I will be happy to introduce you to this quirky Savannah character, but first, let’s meet her caretaker, Rubi McGrory. A Savannah-based artist, writer, mindfulness workshop leader, Reiki Master, children’s coloring and activity book author, private chef, and wedding officiant ― “because that is the best job ever” ― McGrory earned a bachelor of art's degree in creative writing from the University of Connecticut and received formal culinary training at New York’s Culinary Institute of America and the Royal Thai School of Culinary Arts in Bang Saen, Thailand. She spent two and a half decades as a chef aboard private and charter boats before settling in Savannah in 2005.
A self-described “exuberant maker from the time [she] was allowed to play with crayons and glitter unsupervised,” there is a quirky and witty sense of humor that infuses her artwork, graphic design and writing, much of which can be viewed on her website Rubistudios.com. Here, her zany humor in the “Things About Food” art section is apparent, and folks can check out the array of creative workshop offerings or shop for such items as a “Don’t be a Douche” bumper sticker or a set of “Bravery is Contagious” postcards to benefit the Savannah Rape Crisis Center. I am particularly drawn to the section of her website showing some of the tiny creations she posts sporadically on Instagram @the.iridescent. extraordinary, which she describes as “crappy little drawings of the best part of my day done in five minutes or less while lying in bed.”
Patty the cheeseburger's origin story
But nothing could be quirkier than the origin story of Patty the cheeseburger. After McGrory and handsome boat captain husband Bill came to Savannah, she eventually earned her MFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design in fibers.
“When I first started my MFA, I thought I was done with food, but that’s always what I come back to….I stitched jerky together; I made a piece of toast and stitched something that looked like butter onto it. I asked what would happen if I stitched a saltine? Can I stitch into a melon? A lemon? A lot of the focus of my MFA wasn’t just the food itself, but how it is packaged and sold to us. For example, I had a collection of sepia-toned, hand-embroidered portraits in oval frames of product spokespeople – like Wendy, Colonel Sanders and Captain Morgan. All kind of tongue-in-cheek.”
Once, for a SCAD Open Studio night, “I got some cheeseburgers from McDonalds as part of those explorations, and on one I sewed antique purple lace and on another sewed little glass beads. I did not go back to the studio until Monday morning. They looked fine. I wrapped them up, stuck them in a box and didn’t think about them again for three months when I put a pause on my schooling to sail around the world [as one does.]”
Sadly, the cheeseburgers mysteriously disappeared while McGrory and her husband were travelling. “I was crushed.”
Working toward her thesis show upon her return, McGrory, a vegetarian since her teenage years, resumed her earlier experiment and Patty the Cheeseburger was officially born, created as “just one of dozens of pieces of work.” As her website declares, “I had no preconceived ideas of the outcome. I just wanted to play…On July 29, 2008, I purchased a McDonald’s cheeseburger, grill order, no condiments. Because I was afraid I would forget that date, I glued the numbers on the bun in real Swarovski crystals. I named her Patty and tucked her back in her original wrapper. Three days later, I felt she might be lonely, so I found her a sister, a Twinkie named Pammy. Pammy also got the crystal rhinestone-date treatment.”
Today, almost 16 years later, Pammy looks a little faded and desiccated (no major surprise there), but Patty appears remarkably unchanged. Her meat and cheese have hardened, her buns are a little dry, but no mouse, no roach, no ant has ever sampled them. Never coddled or refrigerated, Patty has been stored, rather unceremoniously, in a granola box, and later in a Staples bag in a wine rack. To celebrate this amazing feat of endurance, McGrory threw her cheeseburger-daughter a birthday party at McDonalds when she turned 10, and celebrated local filmmaker Pat Longstreth created a short documentary.
Patty’s pages on McGrory’s website are filled with images of the little cheeseburger-that-could over the years: Patty’s travels around Savannah (joining her mom for yoga in Forsyth Park, visiting the Mercer-Williams House, watching the ships on River Street, and more) and hilarious pictures of Patty inserted into iconic paintings by iconic artists. Thinking that it all started “when I worked at McDonald’s for five years in high school,” McGrory has plans to write a book about her adventures: “The Patty story is big. It encompasses a lot.”
Break out the '80s prom attire and have a good time
Last year, I had the pleasure of attending Patty’s blowout quinceanera celebration at Bull Street’s Whale Craft Ales. Both Patty and Pammy wore many-layered, ruffled dresses and had a court of bejeweled nuggets in attendance. Toasts were made. Little bitty Barbie-size presents were given. A delicious birthday cake, fashioned in the honoree’s likeness, was enjoyed. However, this year’s Sweet Sixteen and '80s prom party promises to be even bigger and better.
Patty’s celebration is from 6 to 10 p.m., on Saturday, July 27 at Service Brewing Co., 574 Indian St. Donations to the Savannah Tiny Homes for Vets project are appreciated, but the party is free and open to the public. Smashed Savannah Food Truck will be on hand, and there will be a themed cake, of course. Eighties prom attire is not mandated but as McGrory says, “Why wouldn’t you? Ok, ok, you don’t have to dress for prom, per se, but at least rock some '80s gear like a mullet or some high bangs. There will be prizes.”
So, what is the deeper meaning here? Is all this frivolity an indictment of McDonald’s nutritional value? A damming of our fast food, throw-away culture?
“No,” McGrory declares. “It’s simply a way to have fun, to take our minds off what is happening elsewhere, and to find joy.”
This is a woman who sticks googly eyes on her coffee maker, who meditates daily, who, as I have mentioned, regularly sketches the best thing in her day, and who writes an Iridescent Ordinary newsletter on Substack with more than 1,000 subscribers and a goal of “microdosing joy in a sucky ass world.”
The world, especially the political one, does feel particularly sucky right now. If Patty and Pammy can add some joy, so much the better.
Find all the party details at thepattyparty.com, and be sure to follow the many adventures of Patty and her sister at rubistudios.com/patty-and-pammy.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah artist hosts Sweet 16 birthday party for a cheeseburger
