Sierra Rae Parker: Woman with a Big Heart
January 25, 1988- January 25, 2022
Sierra Rae Parker of Homer, Anchorage, Eagle River, Palmer and Chugiak died on January 11, 2022 at the age of 33 from liver cirrhosis due to alcoholism. Sierra packed a lifetime of adventure in her 33 years.
Sierra was born in Australia in 1988 but moved at the wee age of two weeks to live in the frigid north of Chugiak, Alaska. Her mother, Homer resident, Suraj Holzwarth gave her a trunk full of art supplies and with Sierra’s overactive imagination and endless creativity, she spent hours painting, drawing and doing crafts. In 2005, Sierra acquired a copy of a fascinating program called Photoshop and promptly became obsessed. When she wasn’t exploring the wilds of Alaska, Sierra grabbed the opportunity to attend a high school summer art program at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and her artistic passions exploded. She perfected her skills and talents in drawing, painting, fashion design, learning foreign languages, cooking and creative writing. She also began her own freelancer graphic design and illustration business, Spade Heart Arts, having clients all over the world.
After taking a road trip across the USA with her high school sweetheart and life partner Joe Passino of Eagle River, Sierra felt the itch for further education and they both traveled half-way across the world for Sierra to attend Curtin University in her father’s home town of Perth, Western Australia where she lived and worked while attaining her Bachelors of Arts in Illustration and Photography with a focus in Graphic Design.
It was in Perth where Sierra’s held her first art show selling her stickers, cards and prints at the Supanova Convention. Her style is bold, magical, whimsical, packed with deeper hidden messages, while encouraging us all to develop our superpowers.
Sierra returned home to Homer, Alaska in 2017 and began her first full time art positions both in art framing and then later as graphic designer at Microcom in Anchorage.
Besides her obsession with the Caped Crusader, Sierra loved all things cephalopod and spent her free time researching mythology or reading fantasy/sci-fi novels. Sierra had a huge heart, and generously volunteered time and services to several Alaskan non-profits. Please join her family and friends at her Celebration of Life with Sierra’s Fall Fundraising First Friday Art Show on November 4, 2022 at the Power Center at 2601 Arctic Blvd in Anchorage 5-7pm. Funds will be raised for her favorite non-profit youth program, Alaska Seeds of Change. Her family wants to raise awareness of the dangers of alcohol and support programs that help young people address mental health and substance use issues.
