Confidence part two

Mountain Rescue by Minerva Teichert

     I can't quite leave this topic without adding that I believe each of us need to find our confidence because we are sons and daughters of God. He created us, He loves us.  If we understand that fact we should be confident in ourselves.  Not the overbearing, self-important kind of confidence, but confident in our relationship with Him and His son, Jesus Christ.  Confident in our abilities to serve Him and our fellow man.  Confident in the talents  He has blessed us with and our desire to develop those talents and use them for good in this world and the next, (we can take our knowledge and talents with us!)
     One of my artistic idols is Minerva Teichert.  She is a great example of confidence and using her talents for good.  Born and raised in remote Idaho, This young LDS girl somehow made her way to the Art Institute of Chicago, and later the Art Students' League in New York City where she received a first-class art education.  She was encouraged by one of her professors to paint her "great Mormon story".  That is exactly what she did.  She returned home, married a rancher, raised a family and physically worked hard.  The part I love best was how she continued to paint.  She attached huge mural canvases on her living room wall.  Between cooking, cleaning and the many chores a ranch wife would have to complete, she would slip into that room and add a few strokes to her painting.  Then after her children were in bed she would devote more time to her painting- many times working far into the night. She painted scenes from the Bible, Book of Mormon, and the great LDS Pioneer trek across the plains. During the depression years she found an agent in Salt Lake City and her fame grew, allowing her to help out financially at their struggling ranch.  She became the first woman artist to paint a mural for an LDS temple.  Even though enthusiasm for her work faded, she never lost her confidence. When a grandchild asked her if she was famous she said, "No, but I will be someday."   I absolutely love her work.  She died in 1976.


Information about Minerva Teichert was found in the Winter 2008 BYU Magazine,"Painting the Mormon Story" by Peter B. Gardner