altar art

a tribute to my mother and father

Pictured above is the altar that I am displaying at Out North Contemporary Playhouse in Anchorage for the celebration Dia de Meurtos that is currently open to the public.  The altar is a tribute to my parents.  You can see the many pipes that my father smoked and collected.  (Ken, my husband, made the beautiful wooden showcase to highlight the pipes and it is the first time shown in public.)  My mother, Jacqueline, was an avid knitter and a master seamstress.  One of her sweaters is featured in the photograph as well.

detail of the altar

My parents met in Switzerland during WWII.  My mother was born in the French part of Switzerland, Lausanne, and as a war bride, my father wound up taking her back to the states to his home town in Albany, New York.  I was born there too and several years later we moved to the Jersey Shore.  My father was an historian, a linguist and free thinker.  He studied theology where he obtained his PhD at New York University.  The bottom photograph shows them lounging in the countryside of Switzerland.  They were both superlative mentors/parents in my life and I love having the opportunity to dedicate a tribute to their couple.

my parents in Switzerland