FIRE - Santa Rosa, CA

I recently finished a quilt inspired by the fires in northern California last October.  I have immediate family who live in Santa Rosa and were evacuated twice for days each time.  While their home was spared, their workplace and the homes of MANY friends were destroyed.  Close to 10% of the population of this small city is still essentially homeless, in temporary housing at best.  Many have just abandoned their former residences and gone. 

The fires were caused by extreme winds which knocked out many power lines throughout the region.  The winds pushed the fire stunningly fast through drought effected brush,  and then the heat from these fires created their own winds exacerbating the situation.  My quilt captures the violence of the color and activity.

The ground layer of my piece is ice dyed.  I did a lot of hand stitching to indicate the unpredictably swirling winds.  I wanted to show the movement of the ash and embers themselves and did so by creating the "dancing" streamers which move slightly on their own.   As in the real fire, these bits are comprised of natural and man-made materials.   The piece is 48" x 36".