Artist Ruth Perry will unveil her new sculpture “The Phoenix” at the Downtown Community Gardens this Friday, on the third anniversary of the 2016 wildfire, in a special ceremony from 4 till 7 p.m.
The piece represents a tree and is made up of stainless steel complete with copper leaves that will in time oxidize and turn green. There will be a hole in the tree-like sculpture where residents can place their keys from their houses that burnt as a symbol of their loss.
Perry, who works as a support worker at the YMCA hopes this will bring healing and open up a discussion for many feelings that have been bottled up inside. She says conversations with residents about their experience during the wildfire can be difficult.
“It is a tricky subject. When people bring up the subject and other people say ‘hey what are you talking about? That happened also three years ago. Move on. Go on with your life’. Those kind of shut-downs don’t make for a very great atmosphere for people to learn how to assist with their coping skills or be more comfortable.”
The massive structure weighs 230 pounds and Perry credits ATT Electric for helping install the project.
