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Since 2016, I have been responding through fiber art to the wildfires around me in California, first the Santa Rosa fire, then the Camp Fire in Paradise, CA, then the Australian bush fires, and now, the many fires of the west coast, from California to Oregon to Washington State.
Fire occurs naturally in our wild areas, part of the dynamics of nature. However, climate change, because of unregulated industry practices and unmanaged human activity, have brought us extreme and violent fires. The closer that populated areas and “the wild” come, the greater the danger of those boundaries becoming “heated”. Think about this moment in our lives as fires and smoke rage all around us.

We’re learning that racial, economic and climate justice are interrelated. Righting these injustices must be our personal and national priority in 2021.

Ileana Soto

www.ileanasoto.com