What do you do when you end up losing everything in a natural disaster? You pick yourself up and really haul the proverbial ass on getting your ducks in a row. One never knows just how blessed you are until it’s all gone.

Just the simple thing of buying towels, toothpaste, toothbrushes and utensils (after losing everything) adds up to hundreds of dollars. But where do you turn when absolutely everything is gone and you spent your last dollar on a house but you literally have nothing to put in it? There are wonderful charities out there to help you get back on your feet such as the Furniture bank of Metro Atlanta. They helped our family with furniture when we lost everything in August of 2017 due to Hurricane Irma and had nothing but our new floor to lay on.

I wanted to give back and so I got an old piece of furniture to ‘redo’ for their February 22nd furniture gala which raises money for their worthwhile foundation. The old furniture I worked on was a 1910 hat rack which at the time of purchase was falling apart. I created two sculptural cathedral agates in paint and resin to go on either side of the turn of the century mirror. I then stripped, sanded, studded, wood burned, wood carved and added leather and succulent gardens at the bottom. After that, I create handmade conchos and metal stars to add a bit of southwest flare. Now the old hat rack is transformed into a southwest jewelry doorless armoire.

For a final touch, I stashed it full of handmade- one of a kind jewelry! In many ways, I feel like I have responded positively to such a tragic event. Remember when tragedy strikes, you have a choice on how you will react and move forward. Art is one of the best ways of digging yourself out of a void.

Here are a few photo’s of my work and if you enjoy it, please consider voting for me, Josette Redwolf, for peoples choice award by liking the photo on the furniture bank facebook page.

Josette Redwolf.