Sierra Anders stands with her painting "Up in Flames" at Mexico High School on Thursday, Feb. 20. Her painting was done in reaction to the Notre Dame Cathedral fire from April 2019 and was selected by State Sen. Jeannie Riddle, R-Mokane, to be displayed in the Missouri Capitol.

A Mexico High School student’s artistic reaction to the Notre Dame Cathedral fire April 2019 will soon be displayed at the Missouri Capitol on the Senate side of the building.

“Up in flames” painted by senior Sierra Anders was selected by State Sen. Jeannie Riddle, R-Mokane. Each Missouri senator selects a piece of art from their district to place in the Senate art exhibit opening March 16.

“It was very spontaneous,” Anders said. “I was in French class and we were watching the news of Notre Dame burning, and I was just so interested in the building itself. I thought, ‘Wow this a huge piece of history happening right now,’ and I decided to paint it.”

The blaze was a beautiful tragedy, she added, and she wanted to capture it in a painting.

“[Seeing the fire] was baffling. It was a huge piece of history going down in front of us all,” Anders said.

This is her first gallery showing. She has applied to other art competitions, such as through Moberly Area Community College and Columbia College. She placed second at the Columbia College contest with a painting and she also has other pieces submitted to the Youth Art Month competition at the Missouri Capitol MHS art teacher Linda Malott said.

“This is my second year [entering] the Senate one. I was amazed that I had won,” Anders said.

While she has done a lot of painting, Anders recently expanded her interests to include ink drawings. A lot of her work is mixed media. She will sometimes combine physical elements, such as pressed flowers or paper butterflies, with her paintings, she said

“A lot of times I do portraits of people of color. I like to really to represent hijabis or women with afros or whatever, so that little girls see themselves in my art. Doing the Notre Dame [painting] was really out of the box for me,” Anders said.

Anders love of art started early with her great grandfather, Dale Anders, showing her how to draw and paint. She also used art to communicate with father while he was in prison when she was in fourth through seventh grade.

“When my dad went to prison, I didn’t always know what to tell him. So, I would just draw him pictures, and he would send me drawings as well,” Anders said.

Anders has grown in her skills in her time at the high school, Malott said.

“She’s an amazingly talented student. She’s worked hard these last four years and it is well deserved. She has advanced out of her little box when she first started. She’s really expanded her portfolio to be a well-rounded art student,” she said.

Anders plans to study art at Columbia College. She also considering art therapy as a possible career path.

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