On May 28th, George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer as he lay handcuffed on the ground. This horrendous event happened just two miles from my home, and one mile from my studio. The protests and violence that followed shattered my understanding of our police force, and the injustice in my Minneapolis community.
The next few days and I stayed away from the crowds and my studio, just three blocks from the smoldering shell of the third precinct police station. Early Thursday morning, a fire jumped from across the street and ignited the roof of the Ivy Building for the Arts. Our community of artists and healing arts professionals watched in shock as thousands of gallons of water were dumped into the building by the fire department. Videos showed 6” of water flowing down the hallways on the second floor.
I felt strangely distanced from the possibility that all my work would be lost. It didn’t seem to matter when I considered the destruction of human life, and my own blindness to the recurring patterns of violence and inequality that my black and brown neighbors lived with daily.
Friday, I anxiously ventured to the studio to see what the damage was.
Hallway to my studio
I was lucky. The floor of my studio was flooded with mucky water, but most everything was up on wheels and there was no water damage to my finished work or work in process. I quickly packed up anything valuable, and anything I would need to continue working for a few weeks.
The view when I opened my door.
Others in the building suffered complete destruction of all their work and supplies.
The future of the building is unknown.
We are all soaked in ambiguity.
Some tenants are packing up and leaving. I’m not sure yet what I will do.
Many thanks to all the friends that offered help after the fire. I may call on you when I have a plan!
And... the work continues. I’ve moved my creative production to our cabin in Wisconsin, where I have a studio in the garage.
Grandma’s trusty Singer to the rescue!
My exhibition at Artistry is on for August, and I’ve been stitching, printing, and painting like mad to finish all the work by the delivery date of August 8.
Out of this devastation, there will be positive change. I’m focusing on how I can be a better listener and learner, and then leverage what I have to make this world better. For Everyone.