“I feel heartbroken by the amount of loss that artists are experiencing in the Altadena, Pacific Palisades and the greater Los Angeles area,” Tuzzi says. “When I saw the news footage for the first time, I thought about myself as an artist and how important my studio practice is to me; how important my paintings and materials are to me, and to think about losing that feels devastating.”
The raffled painting is an original acrylic piece inspired by the landscapes in Hawai’i before their destructive fires in 2023.
Tuzzi raised over $2,000 for the L.A.-based Grief and Hope Fund, which is supporting artists and art workers who have experienced full loss or severe damage to their home, studio, or personal property crucial to their livelihoods in the fires.
Tuzzi sees an important cultural pipeline that connects Humboldt County to L.A. “Many of our students come from L.A. and the surrounding communities and plenty of our alumni have set up their lives to live in L.A. as artists. I am so fortunate to have a vast network of friends, former students, and art world colleagues in that corner of the world,” she says. “My hope is that they all get the support and resources they need to continue thriving in their lives.”