A House for Doris

I created this “house” for my mother, who grew up in poverty in the 1930s and 40s. During the depression, she boarded with others as a matter of survival. This cobbled together box is comprised of detritus from homes my mother lived in as an adult—parts of old andirons, a forgotten box, scraps of wood. It was intended as a portable dwelling so she would always have a space of her own. The box returned to me upon her death in 2017. I turned it into a repository for artifacts and memorabilia from everything I did in my life to honor her life of tikkun olam. In 2021, I inscribed text on the back of the box from an interview she gave 2 years before her final farewell. These words represent the essence of her life and her directive for others to use one’s life in the service of kindness.

I want to be remembered for my kindness to other people, for my caring. Do something to make a change in the world so that people are kind, compassionate, caring and giving. -Doris Hozid Krensky