AFTER THE FIRE

Almost exactly one year ago, I had the honor of joining a cohort of 18 incredible artists to revisit Big Basin Redwoods State Park after the fire. In 2020, a CZU dry lightning storm sparked vast wildfires and burned over 80,000 acres of sacred land. The land was in need of healing before this devastating fire, and much has been awakened since. The region is amidst a healing process. The prints featured here were in part funded in partnership with Big Basin State Park, and were printed at Kala Art Institute in Berkeley, California and were shared as part of a public art commission. The image and accompanying text featured above are presently installed underneath a Redwood canopy in Big Basin, and is there to educate and inspire visitors throughout region.

ABOUT THE ARTWORKS

Mystical Ground:

Mystical Ground depicts an earthen mountain and valley carved by water and wind, that is charred by fire that has moved across the land. A cosmic constellation depicts Native seeds contained in the soil, dormant and waiting for the right conditions in order to be able to germinate. This print is designed to merge microscopic, macroscopic, and telescopic perspectives in order to illuminate the parallel patterns between our bodies, cells, seeds, and the cosmos, inspiring recognition of our belonging and oneness with all of life: from a perspective of oneness, we see that our health is inseparable from the health of the ecosystem and world at large.

Opal Waters:

Opal Waters is a piece that describes the movement of the rivers and tributaries that run throughout Big Basin Redwoods State Park. This piece speaks to the ways that water carves land, and the way that land shapes the movement of water in an ongoing reciprocal dance. The water in this region appears milky and full of iridescent colors. Why is the water this color? Is this due to mineral deposits from the local geology? Tannins from Redwoods intermixing with the sediments? Mysteries abound!

Serotinous:

Serotinous was created following the recent CZU Dry Lightning storms that burned over 80,000 acres of sacred land. This wildfire is an example of a local disaster correlated with climate change that results in part from colonization, fire suppression practices, and the disregard of Indigenous Peoples and vital traditional ecological knowledge. The title for this work is derived from the word "Serotiny," meaning late in developing, opening, or blooming, and is a nod to the seeds throughout the region dependent on fire in order to be able to germinate. This piece is created to depict the potential for fire as kin, and as a source of renewal that reawakens possibilities for the well-being of all life, highlighting the power of each of us in doing our part of care for all that is within our proximity and reach, and to illuminate the concept that an entire universe is contained in a single seed.

The Mother:

The Mother is a print created in honor of the once largest tree in the Big Basin Redwoods region, considered the giver and protector of all trees throughout the forest ecosystem. The Mother Tree has endured fire, drought, and lightning strikes, and as a result has two yonic cracks and openings that lead into a hollow, womb-like cavity in the center of the tree, and the openings expand and contract across the seasons in response to shifts in weather, temperature, and humidity. This print is made in honor of this sacred tree, and as a nod to the concept of the 'Great Mother:' This artwork celebrates the life-giving ways of the earth, and speaks to the generosity and sustenance we receive daily, even from a wounded world.