Babar Works (1986-1988)  

 

Lyn always knew that her father, Wilfred Lavers, died in 1942 when his Wellington bomber never returned to England the night of September 10th. No trace of his plane or the crew was ever found. Her mother later re-married and she was formally adopted by Edward Westfall, her mother's new husband.

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In the Spring of 1986 while visiting a French childrens' Library Lyn discovered the book HISTOIRE de BABAR by Jean De Brunhoff. Even before opening the book she knew each page by heart. When she mentioned this to her mother, her mother explained that her Aunt Nellie Lavers sent her a copy of this book when she was around two years old. As a result of this revelation she became obsessively interested in any information she could gather about her father.

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She visited the Commonwealth War Memorial at Runnymede, England where the names of over 20,000 men and women are engraved on the walls of these cloisters. Flight Sargeant W.W.H. Lavers, R.C.A.F., her father's name, is carved on panel 105.

With the Babar Series she was able to work through the grief of losing a father so early in life (three months old). Child-like colours, images of a single tree and of her dear friend and companion at that time, "Babar", are evident in these works.

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