Paige Crosland Anderson has found inspiration for her artwork in the quilting patterns used by her grandmother.
She started using those patterns in her art before she became a mother. As she embraced her role of being a mother, Anderson said she found the patterns in her painting among the monotony of motherhood to be cathartic and helpful.
“I hope I’m a better mother,” she said as she pondered her own growth. “What I’ve found is that the cotidian, the monotonous, the relentless part of motherhood doesn’t change.”
Anderson said that earlier on in her motherhood, she believed that when her children hit certain benchmarks, like being able to buckle their own seatbelts, she would feel some sense of relief and accomplishment. And while that day came and went, she said she now understands that there is always another challenge or opportunity for growth around the corner from whatever one is facing today.
“What it boils down to is that you just have to keep doing what you’re supposed to do,” she said. “I try to be steady. I continue to practice patience. I continue to practice availability to my kids.”
And whether that patience is tested by how many times a mother asks her children to comb or brush their hair or by how many times she has to answer the exact same question to a curious child, Anderson finds the beauty in it all.
“It’s beautiful. It’s beautiful to see how it plays out with our kids.”
Remembering a time when her children wanted to know exactly when she could be done painting for the day, she recalls having told them that she needed to finish a certain number of triangles in a pattern that she was working on. She said those kinds of moments were easy for the children to understand.
Even when they didn’t comprehend the measurement of time, they understood that Mom was going to paint that number of triangles and be done. While she can now paint for longer stretches of time, she says that what she learned in those early moments have stuck with her as a mother.
“Use the time you have. Put in the effort when you can,” she said, adding, “I feel like that’s what my kids need from me — that steadiness.”
For Anderson, that steadiness as both an artist and as a mother is a reflection of one of her favorite scripture verses. She quoted the verse through her tears as she described one last quilting pattern called straight furrows that she incorporated into her “Sacred Mending” piece on display at the Church History Museum.
“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might,” she said, quoting Ecclesiastes 9:10.
C’mon, Mom…
When Ryan Moffett described his sculpture, “C’mon, Mom…”, he talked about the way a mom can be so incredibly exhausted at the end of a hard day and still find love in her heart to engage with her child who reaches out and pulls on her hand.
Moffett used his daughter and granddaughter as the models for his piece, adding to the personal feelings about how his own daughter is as a mother.
“I’ve never been a mother,” he said. “But I’ve had a lot of great mothers in my life, so working on this piece has really helped me understand the miraculous women in my life that have been mothers.”
Painter Claire Forste knows that individuals take turns throughout life either helping or being helped.
Her “I Lift You; You Lift Me” piece in this year’s exhibit illustrates two women who take turns carrying each other. Forste also had a piece selected in the Church’s last competition, in 2022. That piece, called “Aarthi,” honored a mother figure Forste met after she moved to New York City.
“She had this real enthusiasm … of we want you here, we need you here. We need to learn from you and what you bring to the table,” Forste recalled, thinking about her first interaction with Aarthi.
Pamela Salinas Bernal is from Valparaíso, Chile. Her work in the Church’s new exhibit is titled “The Parable of the Gardner: The Garden of the Lord.”
Salinas Bernal said she feels that being selected to present her art in the competition is a chance to represent other mothers who work hard to care for their families while also creating art to express their feelings and testimony.
