Women and Art

By Aliyah

"What holds together a family? Is it the tangible artifacts that are passed down between generations? Or is it what the artifacts represent?"

Aliyah: What holds together a family? Is it the tangible artifacts that are passed down between generations? Or is it what the artifacts represent? Are the hobbies and habits what connect us? Or is it the memories that we have embedded in them? To answer this question, I started by asking my mom what she thinks about when she thinks of our family's heirlooms.

Mom: I think about my, grandma, your great-grandma's, pottery. Um, I wouldn't necessarily call it an heirloom—I guess it is at this point cause she's passed away. But she was a prolific potter. When I was young, I remember sitting on her lap while she worked at her wheel, blasting classical music. She had so many fun little tools that she used, and her pottery was gorgeous.

Aliyah: My great-grandma's pottery is gorgeous, but it's also a lot more. It was a coping mechanism for her and everything that she went through.

Mom: She kind of went through a period of depression and her doctors recommend she pick up a hobby, so she got into taking ceramic classes and ended up being really fantastic at it.

People would offer her a lot of money for it, and she would always turn it down and just give it away as gifts. And now we have cabinets full of it. She made so much and it's so nice to just see plates and plates and plates and mugs, and her mugs have, you know, these handles with her thumbprint. So it's really cozy when you're drinking tea or coffee.

Aliyah: And her art reflected her emotions so clearly. Each piece is unique, with its own abstract or minimal theme. Some muted in color, some bright or patterned. Pottery was her artistic medium, and her favorite way of expression. And although her love for ceramics didn't translate directly to her children, artistic expression has always been a common theme.

Mom: I would say that this is representative of our family's culture because... you know, especially the women. There was just always a lot of art and a lot of value put in art, and creating, making, being creative. And I think of, you know, grandma's grandma was a piano teacher. My mom, her daughter, was a poet and was always drawing and painting. And, you know, when I was younger I loved to paint and write and draw, and I still do. I would say that is a little bit about our family and our culture.

Aliyah: I love starting every morning with coffee in a cup that my great-grandma made, and I love doing homework in my bedroom under my grandma's drawings, and I love listening to my mom tell me the stories that she's written.

Expression through art is what holds my family together, and the art is our heirloom.