Underwater — A Community Art Project

Underwater draws on the memory of Dayton’s historic flood alongside the extreme weather events communities face today because of climate change. The long-term aftermath of a flood, or any disaster, rarely gets attention. Dramatic images capture our focus for a few days or weeks, but the people whose lives are capsized — or left drowning in debt — are too often forgotten once the cameras move on. The lasting toll such trauma takes on mental health remains largely invisible. This installation calls attention to the importance of mental first aid, and to the power of art as a form of healing.

This project was made possible through a grant from Downtown Dayton Partnership.

Deep thanks to the hundreds of individuals across the Dayton community, the artist-clients of We Care Arts, and the participants of Art for Wellness — a program sponsored by Russ and Sue West and offered through Goodwill Easter Seals’ Miracle Clubhouse and We Care Arts — for their contributions to this work. Please consider supporting their missions.

About the Series

I made a series of smaller pieces based on NASA’s “Images of Change” website. I was dismayed when climate data began disappearing from government websites. The newly launched Climate.us is the nonprofit successor to Climate.gov, delivering climate data and information to promote public climate literacy and to help people turn knowledge into meaningful conversations and climate-conscious action. At a moment when critical climate information was being deleted or distorted, Climate.us stepped up to rescue key resources — including the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s now-deleted Fifth National Climate Assessment — ensuring the public retains easy access to the facts.

I began this series exploring the effects of climate change in 2025 during Art in the City, when hundreds of community members helped create a wall hanging titled Underwater.

This year, I invite the community to help create Tornadic Debris Signature (TDS), a piece referencing the tornado that devastated the region in 2019, using the technique of needle felting — a process that can be cathartic. The completed work, along with others in the series, will be on display at Woodbourne Library in Centerville, Ohio, throughout April 2027.

For reliable climate data, visit https://www.climate.us.