We received a number of impressive entries for the Segullah 2024 Art Contest. Diantha Hopkins’ piece “Priesthood” received the 1st place award for its unique mixed media excellence, using the most mundane supplies – paper, glue, newsprint, metal keys, hardware bits – and giving it a title that transcends definition. In an era when so many are so sure about their own definitions and boundaries of that word, it was a relief and a joy to experience an image that invited an ineffable connection and a wordless exploration.
Segullah: Concerning the “Priesthood” piece you created in particular: why that title?
Diantha: I love the ways titles open up the opportunity to connect the dots between content and meaning. In this case, I wanted people to see the artwork and have the title act like a key to a hidden message. Once you know that, then you can unlock all sorts of other meanings in the piece (including many I haven’t thought of myself).
Segullah: I love that you use the word “key!” Your artwork has so many – and with no clear definition – which allows the viewer to do what you have just described: unlock all sorts of other meanings. Brilliant!
Segullah: Which came first: the title, the medium, or the piece itself?
Diantha: There was some back and forth between medium, title, and piece. I had some keys and I knew I wanted to do something with them, so I thought…hmmm. What meanings do keys have? And then I thought of “priesthood keys.” After that I began looking for other material that would enhance/support an exploration of priesthood power and then eventually settled on the simple title of “Priesthood.” I also considered “Restoration.”
Segullah: I think you made the right choice. Maybe you can create another mixed media piece and use “Restoration” for that one? I’d love to see it!
Segullah: Do you intend viewers to extract some kind of message from it? What would that/those be? I find the lack of further description very empowering, frankly. Viewers can take their own experiences to the piece and discover what resonates with them personally.
Diantha: What I love about mixed media collage is that it opens up a lot of possibilities for meaning making that weren’t intended by the artist but are nevertheless powerful.
For example, my husband recognized some of the metal pieces as tiny Schrader valves that I’d collected from the parking lot of a tire shop.
Segullah: Um, what is a Schrader valve?
Diantha: I didn’t know what they were either. I just liked how they looked and knew that they were an everyday sort of instrument, just like the people God uses to do his work.
But my husband knew, and because he also knew that the piece was about priesthood, he thought that they were a great addition.
He explained to me that Schrader valves are what keep the air from escaping from the tire, and when they work properly, the tire stays inflated and the car can go. Similarly, priesthood power is often made possible by tiny acts/efforts to hold on to the faith that allows the power to keep working. Faith is as invisible as air but as vital to everything we accomplish with God’s power, i.e. the priesthood.
Segullah: What an excellent connection! That’s one of the things I love most about this piece. It is an invitation to the viewer to bring their own experiences and perceptions to it and make holy discoveries.
Another aspect of your piece that appeals to me is the overlaying of white paper – often crumpled or wrinkled or torn – on top of scripture. In my own life I feel like reading the scriptures isn’t always a process of immediate understanding. I personally have to wrestle with words or context or translation that may seem obscure or cloudy to me. Viewing this piece allows me to view that personal wrestle as something beautiful even when not fully understood, meaningful not despite the complexity of understanding but enhanced because of the spiritually muscular work required.
Segullah: Describe the process of creating this piece – from the physical aspects of making it to the compositional choices you made in why some things are placed where they are.
Diantha: Because I was thinking about the priesthood on many levels—I wanted to include all sorts of aspects of it. I wanted to capture the idea of the restoration of the priesthood, and that influenced my choice to use scripture pages that were obscured in some areas but very clear in others. The restoration is ongoing, and so I believe, we still have a lot to learn about the concept of “the priesthood.”
The overall sun shape and rays of bright metal also represent the ways that truth about the priesthood is revealed over time in small and simple ways.
The individual objects are in various states—some are shiny and new and some are old, rusty, torn, or falling apart. This was also intentional because I wanted to show that the priesthood is used through flawed people and in a fallen world, and though we do our best to access and use God’s power for good, that process is often messy.
Segullah: Exactly! Yes! Thank you!
Segullah: I’m personally curious to know if you yourself have deep feelings you can articulate about “priesthood” in the context of LDS culture these days – like who gets to hold it and use it and why? and how does it work? How does it transcend culture and gender? And how does this piece represent YOUR own feelings or understanding about it? These, of course, are very heady questions and in some ways I want to just sit in the tingle of the asking rather than trying to box the complexity of it all into answers. Thoughts?
Diantha: I definitely have thoughts and feelings. I’m incredibly grateful for the recent changes in temple language that I think make the role of women and the role of Christ in priesthood ordinances so much clearer.
I definitely struggle at times with the inequality I see, and sometimes experience personally, because only men can hold priesthood keys. I recently left a meeting with my bishop very frustrated. My bishop is a wonderful and faithful person, but he’s very “old school” and would be the first to admit it. My frustration in the meeting came from the fact that I feel so different at work than I do at church sometimes.
At work I have a leadership position and am respected by my colleagues; I feel my opinions are taken seriously. I don’t always feel that way at church. It’s hard for me to know that at church, there will always be a man that can say “no” to my ideas or contributions because he’s ultimately in the higher leadership position. That almost never happens in the opposite direction, where a woman can tell a man that his idea won’t work.
To be fair, my bishop has listened to me and often gives me lots of freedom in my calling, and I appreciate that.
But it’s frustrating to feel that just because of my gender, I’ll always have less influence in major changes in my religion, even at the local level. I don’t always know what to do with that, but again, I know that ultimately, God sees me and my gender perfectly, and I trust in the imperfect but ongoing Restoration to eventually clarify all that I don’t understand now.
Segullah: Yes and yes. Amen and amen.
Segullah: Speaking more broadly about the art you make, why mixed media? What about it delights or challenges you? Do you work in other media, too?
Diantha: I’m very influenced by artists like Vik Muniz and Andy Goldsworthy who play with everyday, accessible objects and show that art can come out of anything.
I grew up poor and for a long time I thought I couldn’t afford to be an artist, but collage has helped me recognize that materials don’t have to be a barrier. In fact, I love the challenge of NOT buying as much as possible and using found/free objects because they often lead to more interesting work. I also love the way that collecting things from neighbors/friends allows me to include a piece of them and their influence on me in my work.
Segullah: Where did you grow up, with whom, and what were foundational influences on you from those experiences and opportunities? Tell us about your current family and what makes them dear or challenging?
Diantha: I grew up mostly in Denver, and though we didn’t have much money, our house was full of both books and art. Both of my grandmothers made art and collected it and my mother was especially supportive of anything I worked on. These days my husband is a huge supporter of my work and two of my step daughters also regularly make art.
Segullah: How did you find yourself involved in creating art?
Diantha: I’m definitely not a professional artist, but my early career as an elementary teacher helped me learn to see art as play and my current work as an English professor helps me to see art as a way to interpret ideas and reimagine connections between ideas.
Segullah: What a refreshingly holistic view of art! As a way to play and a way to interpret ideas and make connections with a variety of ideas. I love it!
Segullah: What are the most frustrating challenges for you in creating artwork?
Diantha: The hardest part is just finding consistent time to work on it. With a full time job, kids at home (ages 2, 12, 17) along with grown kids and grandkids, my current calling as a Relief Society President, and my efforts to be involved in a group called Braver Angels that tries to build bridges across the political divide in the U.S./local communities, well, let’s just say that I’m pretty busy. But at the same time, when I do make time for art, it energizes me and helps me enjoy/have energy for everything else I care about. Art feeds my soul.
Segullah: Ah, Braver Angels! Excellent and so necessary right now! And yes, I can see why you’re “pretty busy” – all those family and community hats you wear! You’re amazing!
Segullah: What other unique hobbies or other interests do you get lost in?
Diantha: I love to just walk and look at things. Art is everywhere. And I love to read. I have too many books on my bed stand right now but I can’t seem to stop finding more to read.
Segullah: I can see we have the same joys and challenges!
Segullah: What do you consider the major influences on what you create and why?
Diantha: I think creative work is part of our divine identity. When I create art, I unlock and understand my inner divinity more clearly and I hope I allow others access to their inner divinity, too.
Segullah: Beautiful! Any last advice you would pass on to others who love creativity and creating?
Diantha: You don’t need a degree or expensive oil paints to be an artist. You don’t need permission. You just need to do it. And YOU need to do it because no one else can create your art for you.
Segullah: Thank you so much, Diantha, for sharing your creative soul – and its glorious output – with us. Thank you for your thought provoking artwork, your example of leadership and wholeness, and your commitment to the Gospel.
I appreciated reading about Diantha’s insights and her creative inspiration. Thank you, Linda and Diantha!