"August Complex Fire" weaving represents some of California's most devastating wildfires

Six years ago the state of California experienced some of the most devastating wildfires in history. One of those fires, the Glass Fire, started on Sept. 27, 2020. It destroyed 1520 structures in Napa and Sonoma counties as it burned 67,484 acres. A few weeks earlier the August Complex Fire started in northern California. By the time it was extinguished in November, it had burned more than a million acres in Mendocino, Trinity, Glenn, Lake, Tehama and Shasta counties. 

Something about the way the news photos could not neatly contain the shape and strength of these monstrous fires caught my eye in late 2020 and I began making small, irregularly bordered fiber art pieces named after some of the fires -- not just the fires in the U.S. but fires burning all over the world: Tick Fire, Camp Fire, Kincade Fire, Mallacoota Bushfire. The small pieces weren't enough. Something about the twisting of the colors and shapes of flames and burning trees motivated me to create in a larger format. 

In the spring of 2021 I built a primitive hanging loom and suspended it outdoors over the side of a two-story deck at my house. Using a photograph of the August Complex Fire as inspiration, I began weaving what I saw in the photo. I used deconstructed fabrics, linens and clothing, tulle and netting as my weft, and sisal baling twine as my warp. I worked on this project nearly every day for four months, walking back and forth to weave the weft fabrics by hand through the warp. In late August I completed "August Complex Fire," an 11-foot by 8.5-foot, 45-pound tapestry. 

Since then, "August Complex Fire" has been exhibited at galleries in Kansas City, Kan.; Liberty, Mo.; Lee's Summit, Mo.; and Tubac, Ariz. Its textures and colors have been a source of intrigue and interest for everyone who has viewed it. 

"August Complex Fire" is looking for a home. If you think you know someone who would be interested in purchasing it, please pass this link along and invite them to contact me by email.