Cathy Salser
CathySalser.com
As an artist, my lifelong inquiry is: How can we use art to anchor journeys of change in the face of trauma? Today, this journey is being reshaped by the LA Fires. A Palisades resident since 1968, I lost my home, studio, community, and a lifetime of artwork, including a series of larger-than-life acrylic portraits of survivors of domestic violence, the foundational work that birthed A Window Between Worlds (awbw.org). Gone: portraits, photos, archives; the college projects comprising my first experiments in interactive, healing art engagement. Erased: decades of dialogue and healing embodied in acrylic, ribbons, and stone. Time and connection were the medium. The materials —paint, clay, satin, words— anchored journeys that became vessels of somatic, relational and community change
I am living into this void. Working ash and debris from my home into new acrylic surfaces, I touch the echoes of what is missing, honor what will never be recreated, and let each mark hold space for what is emerging. My current path is an act of ceremonial renewal. Just as before the fire, these will be artifacts of deep listening, within and with others. A scaffolding for healing, community and connection. A vessel wishing for a new journey of transformation.
I am living into this void. Working ash and debris from my home into new acrylic surfaces, I touch the echoes of what is missing, honor what will never be recreated, and let each mark hold space for what is emerging. My current path is an act of ceremonial renewal. Just as before the fire, these will be artifacts of deep listening, within and with others. A scaffolding for healing, community and connection. A vessel wishing for a new journey of transformation.