12/01/2025
In late September of 2017, I first exhibited Bucket of Rain in a rural pop-up gallery in Napa County, CA. Weeks later, the Napa Complex Fire erupted, marking one of the worst fire seasons in recent memory. From my home in Oakland, I watched the real-time fire maps morph across my computer screen. Neighbors shared trail cam videos of the haphazard path of the blaze and followed community message boards for updates on our displaced friends and the gallery site.
Though several nearby cabins burned to the ground, the structure housing our art and wood shop equipment had been spared, thanks to the building’s metal roof and siding. When turning these wood raindrops on the lathe, I could not have dreamed we would all soon face a climate disaster head on. Water is an elemental, malleable sculptural form that nourishes and heals us and a recurring presence in my practice, along with the disabled figure (mine) in rural and urban landscapes. Today, I am honored to offer Bucket of Rain to the Leeds community through April 16th, 2026. I hope its protective tactile spell continues to nourish, charm, and rejuvenate.
ID 1: Cool cascading shower of wood raindrops suspended from fine lengths of ball chain as if pouring from a disembodied iron spout. A hand reaches out from the right, holding firm to a fist-sized drop.
ID 2: Bucket of Rain, Napa installation view with exposed wood beam, September 2017.
ID 3: Active Napa Complex Fire Map from October 15, 2017.
ID 4: Orange filterles “wildfire skies” of Northern California