Since the storm, Bakersville potter Julie Wiggins has distributed vital resources to neighbors across her community.
At 8:30 a.m. on Friday, September 27, Bear Creek in Bakersville spilled over its banks, filling Julie Wiggins’ shed with cold mountain water the color of chocolate milk.
“I knew in one more hour, I was going to lose that building and my entire summer of work,” says Wiggins, a functional potter. “It was terrifying.”
Thanks to some quick thinking, Wiggins saved her inventory of mugs, cups, plates, vases, and other handmade vessels from Hurricane Helene’s wrath. But her surrounding community was completely devastated. Roads were washed away by swollen creeks, small coves were buried by landslides, and homes were destroyed by fallen trees and flooding.
“I’m from Jacksonville, North Carolina, so I’ve lived through many hurricanes,” says Wiggins. “I never knew I would experience the worst hurricane of my life in the mountains.”
Julie Wiggins turned her front yard into a resource hub.
After the storm passed, Wiggins hiked into the surrounding hollers to check on neighbors. The look of terror on their faces broke her heart.
“That was the hardest thing,” the artist says.
Determined to help, Wiggins set up a resource hub in her front yard. To distribute food, water, and other essentials to more remote neighbors, she partnered with N.C. Outdoor Adventures to hike in supplies.
Wiggins has also worked with individual donors and Samaritan’s Purse to distribute more than 100 generators to community members with medical needs, such as diabetics who were keeping their insulin cold in contaminated creek water. She hopes to distribute 1,000 total — a crucial goal as temperatures continue to fall in the High Country.
The artist’s goal is to distribute 1,000 generators to families in the Bakersville area.
“We need heat. It was 40 degrees last night,” Wiggins says. “I was cold, and I know people worse off than me were freezing.”
Beyond these efforts, Wiggins has spent a lot of time thinking about what’s next for her art career. Like so many makers in the region, the storm has compromised her ability to make a living and prepare for peak retail season.
“Right now, I’m typically in the studio 10 to 12 hours a day,” says Wiggins. “I can’t believe I haven’t touched clay in nearly three weeks.”
Taking a step back from her medium has been difficult. Recently, the artist began sobbing when a friend served her dinner on a handmade plate.
“I have felt so disconnected,” she explains, “and being able to use handmade objects is just so soulful.”
But these weeks away from the studio have also been somewhat restorative.
“The storm has made me take a step back and get perspective on what’s really important: making time for myself and my community,” says Wiggins. “I feel like the biggest thing I’ve been able to offer people through this is a warm smile, a hug, and a place where they can feel like they’re not alone.”
Julie Wiggins, Bakersville, juliewigginspottery.com. To support generator relief efforts in Bakersville, visit gofundme.com/f/generators-for-bakersville-nc-in-the-wake-of-helen.