Every day above ground is a good day. But what does it really mean to live—to keep growing, creating, learning and becoming? Through the remarkable life and work of artist Elizabeth Catlett, we’re reflecting on the wisdom that comes with time, the courage it takes to keep moving forward, and the power of leaving something meaningful behind.
“Every day above ground is a good day. But is it?”
— Steph Cee
Elizabeth Catlett spent her life creating work that honored dignity, resilience, Black womanhood, motherhood, labor and freedom. As a sculptor and printmaker, she used art not simply to make something beautiful, but to make people feel seen—and to give everyday lives the weight and importance they deserved.
Her career stretched across more than six decades, proving that creativity does not have an expiration date. Catlett kept making, evolving and speaking through her work well into later life.
CREATING WITH PURPOSE
Catlett’s work consistently centered people whose lives were too often overlooked—Black women, mothers, workers and families. She gave them presence, dignity and strength, refusing to treat ordinary lives as ordinary subjects.
For her, creativity carried responsibility. Art could preserve memory, challenge stereotypes, honor struggle and remind people of their own worth. That purpose followed her across decades of work and across borders, from the United States to Mexico.
In Catlett’s hands, the people she portrayed were never background figures. They became the center of the story. Their faces, bodies, labor and lives carried meaning. Her work asked viewers to look again—and to recognize dignity where society had too often failed to see it.
“There is still so much joy to spread, so much wisdom to gain.”
— Steph Cee
That idea sits naturally beside Catlett’s legacy. Her life reminds us that growth does not stop at a certain age, and purpose does not belong only to the young. There is always something more to learn, something more to make, and something more to give.
WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH THE TIME YOU HAVE?
Catlett’s life was not defined by one moment, one success or one season. She kept creating, teaching, learning and leaving evidence of what mattered to her. That kind of longevity offers its own lesson: life keeps asking something of us, and sometimes the answer is to keep showing up with intention.
For younger generations, that may be one of the most important lessons in Catlett’s story. You do not have to have everything figured out before you begin. You do not have to wait for perfect timing, perfect confidence or perfect conditions. Growth often starts with movement.
“Sometimes, it’s okay to jump.”
— Steph Cee
WISDOM DOESN’T RETIRE
Elizabeth Catlett’s story reminds us that age does not diminish relevance. Experience can deepen the work. Time can sharpen the voice. And the years we live can become part of what we leave behind for someone else to carry forward.
That is the invitation here—not simply to admire what Catlett created, but to consider what we are creating with our own lives.
WHAT ARE YOU STILL BECOMING?
Maybe that is the question worth sitting with. Not simply what have you accomplished, but what are you still becoming? What wisdom are you carrying forward? What are you learning to release? And what part of your life is still asking you to move, create, speak, or begin again?
There is no age limit on purpose. No expiration date on growth. And no rule that says the next meaningful chapter has to look anything like the last one.
What is one lesson, piece of wisdom, or act of courage that has shaped the way you live today?
Share it with us. Someone else may need the wisdom you carry.