Art from the Ashes Goes to Texas

This image by Austin author and photographer Deanna Roy (taken at Loop 360 and Lost Creek Blvd just west of Austin, TX) went viral in the first few days of the Bastrop County Complex Fire. The 'live' version of this terrible sight inspired me to write about Art + Fire back in September.

A few months ago, as the wildfires were just beginning in Bastrop, Texas I wrote a post about the art of fire, and about the ecological function and renewing power of fire in the landscape. Since then, the Bastrop County Complex Fire (the most destructive in Texas state history) has destroyed 34,000 acres, 1649 homes and claimed the lives of two residents. The fires also burned over 90% of Bastrop State Park, and much of the remaining Lost Pines habitat of the critically endangered Houston Toad (Bufo houstonensis; Yes, I am old-school. I still call this Bufo).

Image of Houston Toad by Texas Parks + Wildlife Department's Chase A. Fountain.

Little did I know that my post would end up connecting me with some very caring and creative folks in California who were independently hatching plans to use the healing power of art to aide my neighbors in Bastrop. In my research for my Art of Fire post I came across Joy Feuer and the organization she founded, Art from the Ashes (or, AFTA). I think their mission statement does a pretty excellent job of introducing them:

“Our goal is to support communities devastated by natural disasters through the creation of art. ART from the ashes is about transformation. By using reclaimed materials as our medium, we hope to inspire and support the heart, mind and planet.” -AFTA Mission Statement

Joy and AFTA’s PR + Marketing director Stacy Conde immediately replied “YES!” to my requests to use AFTA images in my post and told me (to my delight) that they were already talking about their first show outside of California to support the victims of the Bastrop wildfires.

I am excited to report, after these few months, that they are here! This past weekend Joy Feuer and Nina Savill came to town to reclaim materials from the Bastrop fires and distribute them to Texas artists. By February 2012, these materials will be transformed into works of art that will be shown at an exhibition in mid-March and then sold to support reforestation and other fire recovery efforts in Bastrop. I am so honored to get to be a part of this exhibition to support my neighbors in Bastrop, and I finally got to meet Joy + Nina in person last Saturday when I picked out my reclaimed materials.

Materials salvaged from the Bastrop County wildfires by Nina and Joy.

Rebecca, Hayley & Cole choose reclaimed materials for the AFTA for Texas show.

A few of the salvaged materials from the Bastrop fires that I chose for my AFTA project.

For more details about the March 2012 benefit show you can visit the AFTA Goes to Texas page of AFTA’s website. You can also view photos of Joy + Nina’s recent trip to Texas and meet some of the artists on AFTA’s Facebook page. What will my materials become? Stay tuned…but it will probably have something to do with toads. Until I’m done with my piece, enjoy this beautiful woodcut of a Houston Toad by artist Lisa Studier, who will be featured in my ECO Art + Science series soon!

Reduction woodcut print of Houston Toad by Lisa Studier. Used here by permission.

Interestingly, “fire” continues to be the #1 search term drawing people to the biocreativity blog (though I like that “cool snakes” is also on the top 10 list). I hope that I have, in some small way, helped to give some ecological perspective on fire, which has been a part of human life for millennia. I also hope that I can directly contribute to wildfire recovery by creating art for AFTA’s Texas show and indirectly by encouraging all of you readers to spread the word about AFTA and their efforts. Joy and the rest of the AFTA crew are deep in the planning stages for the Bastrop show in March 2012, and financial donations to support the show would be greatly appreciated (click here to donate). AFTA is especially looking for volunteers in the Central Texas Region who can help in the planning stages as well as the execution of thier series of fundraising events. Interested sponsors, partners and volunteers should contact AFTA4Texas@artfromtheashes.org.

Top 10 search engine terms connecting readers to the biocreativity blog.