I kept a vintage rolodex on my bedstand to record bad ideas that might come to me in the middle of the night. It became an efficient way to record ideas in general, so soon I started keeping my good ideas in there as well, and as time passed, the difference between my good ideas and my bad ideas became less and less clear. Eventually I came to think of it as my burning dumper-dex of thoughts, which is how it evolved into an index documenting California fires, alphabetically organized hand-sewn micro quilts.
I typed cards, using a manual typewriter, to affix to the back of each quilt with facts relating to the fire, such as acreage burned, and tangential peculiarities, including the mushrooms that only appear in burn scars of specific regions or the first recorded case of pyro-tornadogenesis in the Northern Hemisphere.
The rotating device came to symbolize the cycles nature needs to regenerate, such as recurring prescribed burns, and the creative recycling of things seemingly obsolete, such as vintage office equipment.
The cards were originally a stark white, but I spilled my coffee all over the project, and the effect was serendipitous, adding an aged and smokey aesthetic to the work. All of the images and information came from reputable online sources and are whip stitched on quilting cotton. Informational cards and quilted cards are glued together with Elmers.
The 2025 fire season started early this year in California with strong Santa Ana winds in the southern part of the state, and I continue to stitch and reflect on this small memorial quilt.
