"Altared Days"

 

"Altared Days"
Last Fall, around the time of "Day of The Dead"  I made 2 of these altars,  The first one was titled Altared Nights was posted on this blog earlier, and can be seen here.
This sweet piece is made inside a mahogany drawer found at the flea market, the front columns are made from the wood of a vintage child's crutch. The inside of the drawer is covered in hand made paper and in the center is a glittery image of the Our Lady of Guadalupe, holding silver stars in her hands. At her feet are clear glass marbles, and the rose is a diadora cedar cone, I found in my back yard. Glow in the dark lighting bolts line the inside of the drawer.
Religious altars are made by people from Mexico and much of Latin America. They are made to honor their faith in god and in their saint of choice. The very poor and faithful find ways to create things of beauty from nothing or very little. Altars are not special because of the cost of the things they are made from, rather they are valuable because of what they represent.