On Friday, September 27, Tropical Storm Helene came crashing through Western North Carolina, causing our scenic rivers and creeks to breach their banks and turn residential, business, and arts districts into piles of sludge and debris.

Foundation Woodworks, a beloved Asheville woodshop housing Coda Wood Studio and a dozen other small woodworking businesses was flooded to its roofline, destroying every machine, tool, material, and piece of art inside. The surrounding devastated area included studios used by hundreds of other artists. The River Arts District may never be the same.

Next steps for Coda look like applying for disaster relief from FEMA and arts-focused non-profits. These funds can take months or years to come through. I do have a small space in Waynesville where I’ve set up a photo studio and finish room. I will have the opportunity to occupy even more of this building space next fall (fingers crossed), but until then I am strategizing how to use the photo/finish room and adapt my practice to build pieces that require fewer tools and minimal space. All the personal hand tools, power tools, reference books, and raw materials I’d collected over 3 years was lost, so I will be starting over from the ground up.

All in all, support from the community coming in has been incredible. We really do have good people here in WNC.

— Amanda