The Camp Fire starting at 6:33 a. m. on November 8, 2018 was the most destructive in California history. It was touched off by faulty electrical transmission lines in the town of Paradise. It burned for 17 days and consumed 153336 acres of land, destroying nearly19000 buildings, leaving 50000 homeless, and killing 85. The damage was inestimable.
Shane Grammer, a creative director for Disney's theme parks, followed the news of the fire closely. When his childhood friend Shane Edwards posted photos of his white chimney-the only part of his house to survive-Grammer felt helpless. And then he had an idea.
"I've got to paint that chimney. I'm not trying to say anything and it's just an opportunity for me to express something. " said Grammer.
On December 31, Grammer devoted three hours to spray-painting a black-and-white image of a woman on the chimney-a reminder, perhaps, of the beauty of life, or even just of life itself. He then posted it on Instagram. The victims of the fire, especially, could not contain themselves. "Beautiful and unforgettable," one said. Another posted, "You bring beauty and hope. "
Grammer realized what he had thought was a purely artistic expression had changed into something deeper, the nature of true art. "When the first mural (壁画) moved so many people in this community, I knew I had to come back up, "Grammer told KRCR-TV in Redding. Over a period of three months he returned eight times, painting 17 murals of victims on walls, pickups, and pieces of buildings. "There is hope," he explains. "There is beauty in the ashes."
Grammer's work in Paradise has nowinitiateda movement. He has traveled the world painting murals in dark places that badly needed some light. "I want to do something powerful and create art that moves people," he says.
