ANNA Correia-Bevaun said that her mother Stephanie Correia often used the term “burden bearers” when depicting women in her work. Stephanie Correia 1930-2000, was a pioneer Guyanese artist. Her work represents the history and the culture of the Amerindian people.

Stephanie was seen as an artist ever since she was a little girl in North West, where she grew up. Stepanie would draw images of Jesus and the Timheri figure (earth mother), for her mother’s friends. Her mother taught her many crafts, such as macramé and embroidery. Stephanie was a trained teacher by profession. During her studies at the teacher’s training college, the late E.R. Burrowes encouraged her to paint instead of making craft.

After marriage, she gave up her teaching career to become a housewife. She was the mother of eight children. In those days, it was customary for the women to stay home while their husbands worked. But Stepanie had the skills of an artist, so while at home, she started to paint using watercolours and acrylics. Her pieces were displayed in a gallery during the early 1960s and 1970s. In 1972, when her youngest child turned two years old, she started to experiment with clay.

She made sculptures of Amerindian men and women and created pots using hand-building techniques. Stephanie adorned her pieces with cultural artefacts, such as beads, feathers, cotton twine, seeds and petroglyphs. In 1974 she was offered a scholarship by a Baptist Minister to go to the United States, to learn to throw on the potter’s wheel. There she did many pieces in stoneware. In 1987, she became a founding member of the Guyana Women Artists Association (GWAA). She continued working with clay for many years and later returned to painting.

Anna knew her mom was a well-known artist, but she had dreams of her own. She was going to be a nurse. She studied very hard, and eventually, her dream was realised. But as destiny would have it, she too would become an artist. In 1988, after the birth of her second child, Anna made the same decision as her mom did and became a housewife.

It was at this stage of her life that her mother took her under her wings and taught her ceramics. She soon realised that although she was a housewife, she could also be an entrepreneur. Over the years, she improved her artistic skills that were nurtured by her mother. In 1995 Anna Joined GWAA and had her first exhibition that year with them.

Anna is still a member of GWAA and continues to do exhibitions with the group. A lot of her ceramic pieces are similar to those of her mother’s because of the motifs she uses. Fortunately, Stephanie’s knowledge in archaeology, anthropology and mythology was passed down to Anna. She left her and us a great legacy.

Let’s examine the term “burden bearer”. “Burden bearer” focuses on the strength of women and their ability to bring life into the world. They carry a child for nine months, and after the child is born, a mother does everything for the child. In the North West, Stephanie had witnessed women fetching waiari with cassava and their children at the same time. A waiari is a basket made out of palm leaves used to fetch heavy things. She thought about the responsibility of motherhood, pleasing a husband and running a household. In 1998 Stephanie told her life story in an acrylic painting entitled Climb Every Mountain.

At the top left of the background, she portrays the North West, where she spent her childhood. It is positioned within an Amerindian Headdress. Her face is in a side profile. On her cheek, she painted two wedding bands which signify her marriage. There is a string tied around the wedding bands that pulls in two directions – towards her creativity and her eight children.

The mountains in the right background represent eight operations that she had to undergo in life. Also in the background, there is the Timehri Figure, an aspect of her Amerindian heritage. The smoking buildings in the left middle-ground, represent Georgetown which became her home. Stephanie knew all too well what it meant to be a burden bearer.

Anna followed in her mother’s footsteps, and together they have made their mark in the art world. This Mother’s Day, I wish to celebrate this dynamic duo for the contributions they have made, as mothers and as artists.