Call It A Grief Ritual

A Guest Post from Tim Reaves Photography

In July 2021, I traveled to Asheville for the Glen Workshop. It was only the second time I had been away from my kids overnight, and the first time my kids had ever stayed with someone other than my husband. Asheville is like no city I’ve ever been to before, and will forever and always hold a very special place in my heart. It has an incredible amount of character, is full of good food, quaint small businesses, and amazing local art galleries. The devastation from Hurricane Helene has broken my heart and I’ve been trying to find ways to help without traveling or giving money to large organizations.

Last week, I happened upon Tim Reaves Photography and was awestruck by his photo and its caption. He graciously gave me permission to share it with you. I encourage you to check out his other work and support the other artists from Asheville, most of whom have lost everything. Tim has an online gallery store as well as a Facebook Page and Instagram.

Call it a grief ritual.

I tried to drive to a high elevation spot near the Blue Ridge Parkway to photograph the aurora, but it seems every way is blocked by a landslide that hasn't been cleaned up yet. I went back to the River Arts District in Asheville, hoping I might get lucky and find the northern lights faintly illuminating the desolation of my former gallery. I guess the power outages have a silver lining, because I was surprised at how much color I was able to see with the naked eye even near the middle of the city.

I've never attempted an urban nightscape before. I always thought "the dark, sacred night" could be found only in the deep hollers and hills, where fireflies light paths to wildflower fields under the faint glow of the Milky Way.

It was my love of night things that drove me to become a photographer in the first place, and it's what earned me a spot at Foundation Studios. I suppose it's fitting to ply my craft as a way of saying goodbye to this lovely little spot by the river.

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~Words and photograph by Tim Reaves

You can find more of Tim’s art at his an online gallery, Facebook, or Instagram.