Water has become a recurring theme in my work. The extended drought of recent decades was a primary reason for my family’s relocation to Asheville, NC from the desert southwest. I was mourning the loss of the annual monsoon, and longing for rivers and rain. For me, and everyone in Western North Carolina, Hurricane Helene deepened and complicated our relationship with water. During the fall of 2024, water has been everything from a force of destruction to the most important resource to distribute and restore. Water is an agent of change, even death; Water is the heart of life.