One thing I loved about Andrea Clark was her hugs. They felt like rest. She held you just long enough for your breath to settle back into your body. Her humor worked the same way: warm, witty and grounded in quiet knowing. Andrea had a way of settling you into a room, into a moment and into a legacy.
Her grandfather James Vester Miller was a master brickmason who built homes, churches and public buildings across Asheville. He laid his legacy in brick. In 2020, Andrea honored that legacy by creating the James Vester Miller Historic Walking Trail with support from CoThinkk, a local giving circle that invests in area communities of color. She later partnered with UNC Asheville and Explore Asheville to help bring the project to life. For Andrea, understanding what her grandfather built and for whom he built it affirmed her sense of belonging in Asheville, even though she was born in Massachusetts. She made sure others felt like they belonged, too.
Color and wisdom
Andrea was best known for her photography, but her artistry moved across mediums. She wove baskets at the YMI Cultural Center, wrote plays and told stories like a seasoned griot. Her accounts of summers on Martha’s Vineyard were rich with color and wisdom. She’d drop one detail that made you laugh from your gut, then pause just long enough for the lesson to land.
Some mornings, she’d call before the day had even begun…