About 3 years ago, I lost my art studio, tools and most of my belongings on Cobb Mountain, California in the devastating Valley Fire of September 2015. The experience of this loss was fundamental and very personal – a reality shift of major proportions. At first I was unsure on how to proceed. After losing my art studio and most of my belongings, any creative impulse and urge for my artistic expression were completely shut down.
The support that came through CERF+ was a key factor in finding my way back to my creative expression. I was able to purchase a new set of tools and a used truck that helped me tremendously in moving forward into my creative life. I am very grateful for all the ways that support showed up; how people came together; how artists especially stepped up and worked together ever since the fire. The loss and how these disasters affect us are very personal to each one of us, and it becomes a collective and universal experience through the ways we help each other, share our stories and work and create together in the time after disasters.
Excerpted from “The Importance of Art and Creative Expression After Catastrophe”.
