Miki Klocke – Photographer, Glass Artist, Author

Thomas Fire Jewelry

Live your WILD RESILIENT SPIRIT.

Handmade - Fused glass jewelry - infused with ash from the Thomas Fire.

Unique - no two are alike.

Limited release - will stop making on the one year anniversary of the Thomas Fire.

Customizable.

10% of sales donated to Upper Ojai SAR.

To see current availability and to purchase, come over to my Instagram page @MikiKlocke

The Thomas Fire began while
I was celebrating my 50th birthday.

fire

As we exited the restaurant we were hit
with the foreboding smell of smoke;
an alarming scent when you live
in a drought effected climate.

fire-flag

All through that first night,
with the entire valley submerged in darkness,
I anxiously watched the mountains glow with fire.
The morning sun rose with an ominous light,
erratic winds continued to howl.
I could see flames descending down toward
my home, so I evacuated.

fire-sky

I stayed away for 9 days,
with first the imminent threat of fire
and then dense smoke and ash
hanging heavy over the valley.
When I returned to see the bare
and black scarred mountains
of my birth home, I wept.

fire-mountain

Fear and anxiety have continued to
dominate life in the Ojai Valley.
Each rain brings threat of mud and debris slides,
every siren or thump of helicopter blades
amps up a collective apprehension that
is not soon to leave us.

fire-tree

Creating art is a
healing medicine for me.
Within our art is a story—a story we share.
When we are heard, we begin to heal.
I started experimenting
with glass and ash in the studio.
With the birth of the glass bear,
I felt a deep breath release from
within. I found a spirit-soul connection
to my home-land that I had
never felt before.
I am blessed
that this mecca known as Ojai
is infused in me, and no matter her scars,
she is home.