safe in my mother's arms, 2024

Safe In My Mother’s Arms is an illustrative quilt that celebrates the relationship between a mother, her child, and their community as they care for one another. Whether it’s a mother nurturing her children or a community nurturing their own, mothers and motherhood are an integral part of growing and maintaining community and culture. This piece specifically speaks to mothers that haven’t had a linear journey but have sought out and received support from those around them in order to provide for themselves and their children. 

Pulling from the saying “it takes a village,” the hands, representing community, pour their love and support into the soils that the mother tree is nourished by. The halo around the mother and child represents brighter futures for them both, as well as power and agency in their own stories. The more supported the mother tree is, the more lilies and fruit sprout from her base and canopy.

No matter what a mother goes through in life, her child is safe in her arms, and her community will make sure that she always has the strength to not only carry her child, but herself as well.