Completing this project was an incredible experience because I got to learn a lot about my mother’s family and had a lot of fun carefully selecting each individual aspect of the altar. Some of the personal items I used to physically construct the altar is my grandmother’s own fabric that she had in the home. My mother kept all of her fabrics from her quilt-making days and was happy to lend me some beautiful orange pieces. I also chose to include a couple of my grandmother’s seashells in the project. She loved the ocean and amassed a large collection of shells over the years. Similarly, my grandfather was fascinated with rocks and geology so I included two or three gemstones and rock pieces that he gave me when I was younger. The last personal item I included was a red bull. My grandfather was nicknamed ‘El Toro’ so when I saw the ceramic figurine in Peru a couple years ago I knew I needed to purchase it because it reminded me of him. Selecting photographs was also something that was really fun and meaningful. I felt compelled to include pictures of my grandparents at different stages in their lives, starting with one from when they first started dating and another one that was taken right before my grandfather’s passing. I also chose to include a photo from my grandmother’s funeral in which all the women of my family are smiling in front of a large photo of my grandma. This is representative of the fact that my grandmother was the matriarch and center of my entire family before her passing. She was a huge role model for women in my family and they all looked to her for advice and support. The last photo I included was one of all of my grandparents’ grandchildren. Seeing the amount of people (me and all of my cousins) that would not be here had it not been for my grandparents’ love was beautiful and incredibly meaningful.