Betye Saar
By Sahir Ahmed
A mother can make a house feel larger, a crisis smaller, and a phone call overdue. She is often the family's unofficial archivist, event planner, negotiator, medic, and emotional weather system all at once. The strange genius of motherhood is that it can feel simultaneously invisible and all-powerful. Somehow, her voice is always the one her children hear first; though, what she gives rarely divulges itself directly, and almost never expires. Which is why long after we stop reaching for our mothers’ hands, many of us keep reaching for the lessons they taught us. So, this Mother's Day, Family Style asked some of the mothers we admire most to revisit what they inherited, and to consider how it carries over to their own children.
Betye Saar, artist
"I grew up the eldest of my siblings, and we were all very different. My sister, Jai, was sporty and popular; my brother, Bob, was social, and I was skinny and awkward. But my mother taught me to overcome hurt feelings and trust in myself. She’d mention ‘other people’s good,’ which happens to other people and is meant only for them. She would say, ‘Your good is coming to you in another way.’ This didn’t really kick in for me until I was in high school and college, which is when I discovered my own self-worth by being creative and making things. That’s when I became an artist. I’ve tried to instill in my daughters this same idea, to be their own person. I feel that they are passing this along to their children, that everyone has their own skill-set, their own unique gift."
