Mother-son duo reflect on ‘Ancestral Home’ in art installation

Artistic ‘Home’

“Ancestral Home,” a quilted work by mother-son duo Mik and May Gaspay, is on display at the Redwood City Art Kiosk, 2208 Broadway St., through Jan. 4, 2026. The installation centers on their family’s home in Enrile, The Philippines, which was destroyed by a typhoon. Through cutting, stitching and layering, the Gaspays reconstruct the house as both a personal and collective monument that honors family histories while reflecting on broader experiences of home and displacement.

The Gaspays have been collaborating on art projects for the last five years. May Gaspay lives in Palo Alto. A retired registered nurse who worked at Stanford Hospital for 35 years, she has been quilting for over four decades. Mik Gaspay is a San Francisco-based artist who received his MFA from California College of the Arts in 2011.

Driven to give

The Menlo Park Firefighters Association and St. Anthony’s Padua Dining Room are looking to bring their annual toy drive up to pre-pandemic levels this year.

Prior to the pandemic, nearly 1,200 children in San Mateo County were reached annually. Since 2020, that number has dropped to around 800, and the number of children in need has doubled. Organizers are looking to Pettinelli Financial Partners, a major supporting partner, to help restore full reach to families in need across the county.

Community members can drop off new, unwrapped toys, sporting equipment and stuffed animals for infants through teens at any Menlo Park fire station or at St. Anthony’s Padua Dining Room, 3500 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, or Pettinelli Financial Partners, 555 Veterans Blvd., Redwood City. No toy weapons of any kind will be accepted.

The toy drive is accepting online gifts via the Amazon Toy List. For the link and more information, visit https://www.stanthony-and-menlofiretoydrive.org