“Fire Melts Ice” intallation in process (2026)
The installation “Fire Melts Ice” aims to melt the isolation we experience in western society by reigniting the ancient memories of the communal fires that sustained our ancestors. Through this remembrance, it seeks to ignite the heart in passionate action for change on a personal and systemic level.
a still frame from the upcoming documentary “fire melts ice”
a still frame from the upcoming documentary “fire melts ice”
In late January 2026c Nashville was hit by a catastrophic ice storm that left 230,000 people without electricity. At the same time across the country, ICE was wreaking destruction on the communities of Minneapolis.
During the storm, I was privileged to have a gas fireplace for heat and spent 5 days staring at the fire. Our neighborhood lost many dearly loved trees, mostly pine and magnolia, but people looked after one another, visited each other and shared resources.
After my electricity was restored, I was struck by how strange it felt again to feel warm air filling the entire home while it was freezing outside. As i often do, I thought about the way communities used to live when humans were deeply connected to the elements and each other for survival.
I walked outside and heard from the trees. They said, “We that fell are the most vulnerable of our kind”.
Because everything in the universe speaks to us through metaphor, I knew they were directly reminding me, in my own yard, that we must take action to protect the most vulnerable of our kind as well. To fuel action in love requires the fire of passion in our hearts for humankind.
The process of creating this interactive immersion continues to take me on a journey deep into the heart of sacred fire where i am discovering layers of meaning and inspiration. It will be completed in the summer of 2026, the year of the fire horse.
early morning 01/25/26. i was awoken by the sound of falling branches on my house.
my beloved magnoila tree
pine trees damaged in my and my neihbor’s yard. these brances will make be used to create a canopy above the fire in the installation.
connecting with the element of fire through an altar at my gas fireplace.
watching the flames dance as they are reflected upside down in the glass.
gazing at this “inner fire” ultimately inspired me to design and build a sacred containter for the ancient fire.
a design sketch of the scared fire container. these are the lateral faces of a 3 sided ceramic pyramid design. this will hold a handmade candle infused with the energy of pine needles that fell in the storm.
a sketching of a second identical pyramid that will hang directly above. the apexes will. align. this add another layer of meaning, the base fire representing evolution, ascending, reaching towards spirit. the hanging pyramid representing involution, spirit descending down into matter.