Artists often prefer a quiet, secluded place to work. But for Big Sur artist Erin Gafill, there might be such a thing as too much isolation.
The collapse of the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge and a subsequent landslide have closed off the coastal community of Big Sur to all traffic. The only way in or out for locals is a hike down a long dirt trail.
As a result, the Esalen Institute where Gafill teaches art temporarily shut down because students couldn’t get there. But rather than toss her brushes in frustration, Gafill, a fine arts painter, took stock of what she did have.
“I had internet access,” Gafill said, “I had electricity, I had running water.”
And she had access to Facebook and a husband who is a photographer.
So Gafill began filming instructional painting classes which she posted to Facebook and the video hosting website Vimeo. She now has more than 50 subscribers to her series of art instruction and a new audience for her art from the exposure on the social media site.
“I’m absolutely able to maintain my livelihood as a teacher,” Gafill said, flanked by a stunning view of the Monterey Bay. “I’m also able to share my work.”
California
Gafill’s resourcefulness has become a standard among the four-hundred or so Big Sur residents trapped in what’s become a scenic enclave. The trail that winds through the woods and into the community is constantly bustling with people wearing backpacks stuffed with groceries and other supplies.
The Post Ranch Inn began offering vacation packages which included a helicopter ride in and out. Nepenthe, the restaurant owned by Gafill’s family remains open for business even though there is very little.
“What does a skeleton crew really mean,” joked Gafill’s brother Kirk Gafill who serves as Nepenthe’s general manager. “Now we’re down to the marrow I think.”
But the streak of self-sufficiency is something of a requisite in Big Sur, which has suffered similar road closures throughout its long history — including during the 1998 El Nino.
“It’s really wild,” said Erin Gafill. “You’re out of control of what’s going on. There’s mudslides. There’s forest fires.”
The Big Sur community was still recovering from the massive Soberanes Fire that rampaged homes and property over three months last summer when the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge collapsed in February following a winter of steady deluges. A couple months later, a mountain-side to the South of Big Sur slid down covering Highway 1 in a giant hill of soil.
A replacement Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge isn’t expected to open until September leaving a long summer ahead for Big Sur’s normally-booming tourist industry. But Gafill said with nature at the helm, there wasn’t much to do except ride it out and enjoy the unusually tranquil period — a paint paradise, all things considered.
“This road closure will end,” Gafill said. “Things will go back to a new normal — so treasure it.”
