Piece From Local Artist To Benefit Volunteer Fire Departments That Fought Historic 2020 Colorado Wildfires

Williston - Daphne JohnsonClark, originally from Fairview, is one of more than 80 artists from across the country that donated a piece of their artwork to be sold in an online auction from May 10-15. The auction will feature art made of charcoal from the devastating wildfires in Colorado that burned more than 700,000 acres.

The 2021 Ashes to Art Project, co-founded in 2012 by Lori Joseph and Tim O'Hara after the Colorado High Park Fire, asks artists across the country to donate various forms of art - ranging from paintings to jewelry to sculptures - to be sold in an online auction for charity. Their art must feature charcoal from the wildfires in some way.

All proceeds from this year's auction will equally benefit the Poudre Canyon Fire Protection District and the Rist Canyon Volunteer Fire Department - two volunteer fire departments that were financially devastated after working tirelessly for several months to contain and extinguish the wildfires.

Online bidding for pieces will begin Monday, May 10. Bidding will be open through the week until 8 p.m. (MST) Saturday, May 15. Items can be viewed and bid on at the Bidding for Good website: http://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/auctionhome.action?auctionId=341697649.

Artists from all 50 states are represented. Work from artists from Columbia, South America and Great Britain are also featured this year. There will be about 100 pieces of art available for bidding.

For more information, contact Joseph, O'Hara or Daphne JohnsonClark at their email and/or phone numbers listed above. You can also learn more at http://www.facebook.com/theashestoartproject and view pieces from the 2012 Ashes to Art Project at https://www.instagram.com/theashestoartproject/

About Ashes to Art

The Ashes to Art Project, founded in Fort Collins, CO in 2012, is a way for the creative community to support the local firefighters who worked to protect the homes, lives and families during the most devastating series of fires in Colorado history. Through the project, artists across the U.S. donate their submissions, which must include charcoal from the wildfire in some form. All forms of artwork are accepted. For more information about the project, go to http://www.facebook.com/theashestoartproject.

About the Fires

In summer and fall of 2020, fires raged across the state of Colorado, causing devastation never seen before in the state. Between the Cameron Peak, East Troublesome, Mullen and Pine Gulch fires, more than 700,000 acres burned across seven counties in Colorado. The Cameron Peak fire, just outside of Fort Collins, burned from Aug. 13 until Dec. 2, 2020 and covered 208,913 acres. These fires and others during the record-breaking 2020 wildfire season caused an immense amount of damage to homes and wild lands and required nationwide resources and support to control.