by Elvira Diaz-Ocampo...

In 2008 I dedicated my Day of the Dead installation entitled "Tree of Hope" to the soldiers who have died in the Iraqi and Afganistan wars.  It was a three-part installation consisting of a traditional altar, a display which included the names and pictures of all the men and women who have lost their lives in the wars and included a shovel, boot and rifle, a symbol of a fallen soldier, and the third was a "Tree of Hope," with a Prayer for Peace.