"The Altar Series is based on Christian symbols and the belief that God loves all his creatures - from the beginning of time until today - in nature as well as the hearts of all people." - Jerry Wray

 

Jerry’s method of painting the Altar Series was similar to batik. Large signs, placed first on the paper with melted wax, were drawn from her Christian background. The basic design is a square drawn in wax with an oval above and an oval below or three ovals below. The square represents the earth (God's Altar), the oval above represents God, the ovals below represent the Trinity, circles on each side represent his followers. The longer X in the middle of the square points to the four corners of the Earth - in other words - all the Earth.

Within the spaces these created, Jerry placed symbols used in early Christian paintings such as butterflies (rebirth), rainbows (God's promise), The Cross, The Heart (Love), The Dove (Holy Spirit), sunrise, sunset, trees, leaves, and flowers. There are also symbols taken from early human cultures in the Americas, Australia, and even France. Finally, there are geometric markings - the X, the diamond, squares, and circles, which can be found in every culture. Each painting expresses a small statement about God's love and about his never changing nature.