While the new year of 2011 was debuting, the abode at this address was in flames.
None of the building was salvageable. Its last tenant was a woman who wove rugs and large carry-all bags out of colorful pieces of cloth. Since her home could be seen from Hwy. 191, she had a clothes line strung out in her front yard in order to display her latest creations for sale. I bought a small area rug and large carry-all bag from her husband who was the proprietor of her business. Not long after that they moved away. No one else moved into the old dilapidated house. The house was vandalized and had an open front door.
This abode was very significant to me. In the home was a fireplace made of tile. The tile was very unique. It had a textured, forest green background with thick burnt orange stripes with thin tan stripes running through the middle of the burnt orange ones. It was on this fireplace mantle that I placed, documented and photographed cowboy and indian icon art piece #1. This was the place where my whole art project began.
All that was left standing was a plain brick fireplace and chimney. Charred pieces of the tile were all around it. It was on this erect survivor that I placed, documented and photographed cowboy and indian icon art piece #82. I’ll never know if anyone discovered art piece #1 before the fire and removed it. For all I knew, I could’ve been standing on its charred remains amongst all the other rubble.
Before I left the sight, I picked up and took back to my car two pieces of the charred tile.
It would be gingerly cleaned up and placed on my mantle - with a memory.
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