MENDOCINO Co., 6/13/18 — The Arts Council of Mendocino recently announced three community art projects designed around wildfire survivors. The projects include individual artists grants, “First Person Plural,” a project centered on interviews with fire survivors, and “Art from the Ashes,” which incorporates mosaics into a series of workshops and artworks.
The projects are supported in part through support from local organizations and individuals, including the Community Foundation of Mendocino County, and the public is invited to participate. Here’s more details below:

Autumn by Rose Easterbrook, relief print with chine colle, reproduced courtesy of the artist
– More than 29 grants totally $5,800 has been provided in grants to individual artists over the last several months to artists who lost their supplies and equipment during the fire. There is no more funding currently available, however “the arts council will continue to accept applications until the one-year anniversary of the fire in the event that additional funding becomes available. Historian and author Dot Brovarney has generously offered a percentage of the proceeds from her book, ‘The Sweet Life: Stories from Butler Ranch’ to support this fund.”
– First Person Plural is “specifically created for and about the fire experience,” and supported by the Arts Council and Community Foundation. Selected fire survivors will be interviewed and their monologues will form the foundation of a performance. Those interested in participating in this project or upcoming monologue workshops can contact Ellen Weed at 707-462-6366 for information.
The performance will take place Wednesday evening, September 19, at Ukiah Senior Center’s Bartlett Hall. From the press release: “Tickets will be $10 on a sliding scale, with admission free to other fire survivors, volunteers, and first responders. Half of ticket sales will also be donated back to the Community Foundation’s Disaster Fund for ongoing fire relief.”
– “Art from the Ashes,” led by Elizabeth Raybee, is a project which includes free art workshops for fire survivors, and also includes a large-scale mosaic wall mural located in Redwood Valley. The workshops provide fire survivors an opportunity to learn how to explore the healing power of art making by creating mosaics using personal items. “You are invited to bring saved bits of broken or melted objects to incorporate into mementos, or use only materials provided to rebuild your new art collection,” notes the event description.
The workshops will take place at the Elizabeth in E Raybee Mosaic Studio in Ukiah on June 22-24 or July 6-8. The project is supported by the Community Foundation and by the California Arts Council. You can register at this link.More information is available by contacting Elizabeth Raybee at [email protected]
For more information about the Arts Council of Mendocino and ongoing projects email director@artsmendocino.