It’s been just over a year since 16,000 homes and structures were destroyed in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena fires in Los Angeles back in January 2025. 

Among those affected is Cal State Fullerton art education alumni Mia Aghili, who chose to turn her devastation into inspiration by using her art to express her grief from losing her home in the Altadena Eaton fire. 

In 2025, Aghili was featured in the CSUF art exhibit “Scars and Endurance” which ran from Oct. 28 to Nov. 1, displaying her art that depicts her experience with the loss and struggle in losing her home. 

Before the fire, Aghili was unsure of her future after graduation, but after losing so much in the fires, she had the strength to focus her attention on creating art from this experience.

“I got to focus on applying to residencies, applying for the show,” Aghili said. “It gave me a purpose and a focus.” 

In her search for residencies, Aghili found the Firefly residency with Blue Roof Art. Blue Roof is an organization that aims to give residencies to female artists, allowing them access to a safe work space and giving access to the proper resources.

The Firefly residency was created to help support artists who were personally affected by the LA fires. It is an eight-week program that provides artists with a studio space and covers the cost of materials.

Mary Anna Pomonis, an associate art education professor at CSUF, was one of the major influences in inspiring Aghili to focus on her artwork and apply for the exhibit and residency. Pomonis lost some of her artwork in the LA fires and was in the Firefly residency herself from July to August 2025.

“I think one of the biggest struggles for artists at a school is studio space,” Pomonis said. “She probably is the youngest artist to ever even try to apply for a scholarship or a residency there.”

Pomonis’ experience in the Firefly residency introduced Aghili to the program and motivated her to apply for herself. Aghili expressed how important it was to have Pomonis and her support while they grieved their respective losses from the fires, but continued to pursue their art.

Logan Martinez, a second-year photography and experimental media major transfer, expressed the importance of having these types of residencies for women in the art scene.

“Especially in the art space, it’s still very, very male dominated,” Martinez said. “The residency specifically highlighting women artists is not a minor thing, but a very amazing thing.”

Martinez played a role in curating and assisting Aghili in setting up her October exhibit alongside fellow peer Catherine Montoya, a third-year art education major. Montoya felt very impacted and inspired by Aghili’s perseverance, passion and the powerful emotions her art inflicted on other people.

“Her art-making process was so interesting to me, because even though she had gone through so much, she was still using that pain and trauma and challenging all of that, all of her feelings, into making something beautiful for people to see,” Montoya said.

Despite the setbacks and devastation the fire left behind, Aghili has never let it stop her from pursuing her passions and propelling her success. Aghili’s main goal with her art is to inspire and help fire victims find community and solidarity within each other. She wants to bring recognition and attention to the effects of the fires that are still ongoing. 

“If they could just feel a fragment of what’s been going on, then I’ve done what I need to do,” Aghili said.

Amidst an ongoing battle recovering from the fires, Aghili’s perseverance in the face of so much loss is inspirational and seen clearly through her art.

“I’m still living through it,” Aghili said. “For some people that was just a news cycle, but for me, it’s been every week.”

Aghili’s Firefly residency at Blue Roof will begin this summer from May through August 2026.