Help Claire heal in peace and love!

On the evening of February 13, Claire Johnson experienced a traumatic hand injury while using the table saw in her carpentry shop, resulting in three broken fingers, nerve damage on two fingers, the loss of a fingertip, and plenty of blood. She will be unable to work for at least four months.

For decades, Claire Johnson has been a well-loved, productive member of the art, queer, and sex-positive communities in Seattle. Claire is a talented painter and a member of SOIL Gallery. However, she pays her bills doing art installation work, both working on exhibit install crews at Seattle museums and running her own small business (Art Exhibition Services). To make it all happen, Claire regularly works day shifts doing museum installs then spends evenings working on commissioned exhibit pedestals and walls in her shop. Working 12-14 hours six days a week is common for her and it’s not that lucrative. She makes just enough to get by.

Because this accident happened while working on her self-employed business, she is not eligible for L&I or unemployment. She has decent insurance but there will be deductibles for every physical therapy visit and there may be hospital co-pays as well. She also needs to pay rent on her apartment and her shop, keep herself and her cats fed, and cover her monthly bills. This situation presents a serious financial crisis for this stalwart, generous member of our community. Can you help?

This is also an opportunity for the community to help Claire to shift to a gentler schedule that focuses more on her painting. You can do that by investing in Claire’s art, helping her to network with gallerists, identifying grants, or any other ways that come to mind. Prices for her work range from $100 to $3000. You can view her art and contact her at www.clairejohnsonart.com. Some of her terrific newer work can be seen at her page for Soil Gallery (https://soilart.org/members/claire-johnson). Please be patient while waiting for a response to inquiries as she is still dealing with the immediate trauma of the injury.