I spent the weekend building this lamp. Titled: "Flight in Vain 2"- Mulberry paper/ ink on a 36 x 36 in. wood/plexiglass panel with LED installation. A sad homage to the lost wildlife taken by these wildfires. Rabbits running in all directions hoping to escape the relentless flames which have already engulfed them (represented by the light). Rather than maintaining a realistic approach I decided to honor the style of my previous piece, with more refinement.
Based on a previous study/draft done from when my sister Angela and I visited (what was left) of a family home after the 2018 Malibu fire. When I was there I saw the charred foundation of a once beautiful house which held so many dear memories.... and yet I thought about the little rabbits which used to live in the area. I visualized how the fire rolled down the mountain so fast there was no way any animal could outrun it - and a great deal of wildlife did perish. The silence of death was unbearable.
The initial sketch titled "Flight in Vain" is roughly 7ft x 3ft and drawn out with the charcoal collected from my family property. In an almost automatic style the rabbit forms are crudely drawn out dancing in and out of the gilded flames. With the help of my sister we finished it in a day. "Flight in Vain" still remains in Malibu.