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Santa Rosa Fire Claims Collage Works
Northern California wildfires in October 2017 burned over two hundred thousand acres and destroyed 5,700 buildings and resulted in 90,000 people evacuating their homes. Forty-two people died. Lost in the fires was the home, studio, and all of the artwork of collagist Sherry Parker. “We got out with the clothes on our back, our car, and laptops,” said Parker. “We have literally lost everything.” Parker has been working with collage since 1987 and brings a dynamic serendipity to her art making. “Collage is an adventure; a happening,” she said. In this magazine, her work was featured in the Exhibition-in-Print “Broken Bodies” in Kolaj #11, the Artist Directory, and Collage Artist Trading Cards Pack 6. Parker reports, “We plan to rent someplace to stay for the month of November while we look for something more permanent. I fear it will be quite a while before I have the space and materials to work again, but it is a high priority so I’m sure I’ll figure something out as soon as I possibly can. In the meantime we’re living from day to day and trying to sort out the rest of our lives.”
Fellow collage artist John Hundt has taken up the task of collecting donations of imagery, scissors, glue, and other collage making supplies so that Sherry can keep working. If you want to contribute, contact John via email.
Image:
Would-be Bird by Sherry Parker
(5″x8″; mixed media collage; 2014)