I sometimes joke that the rural place “behind the Redwood Curtain” in California where I live, Humboldt County, is like fly paper. People land here and make motions to leave. But then they sink back into Humboldt County and stay forever.
I landed here in the late 80s. It was only going to be for a year. I’ve peeled myself away to other places for some periods, notably graduate school in the Midwest in 1990 and visits overseas years ago, largely in the UK.
But for the most part I’ve remained pasted in place here in the far northwestern reaches of California, about six hours north of the San Francisco Bay Area. The weather is nice and rainy (much like a mild Britain) and, overall, it’s an interesting enough place to land in and stay.
My transatlantic connection goes back to the 90s. One highlight of my time in the UK was getting to study a majority of Mary Delany’s original nearly 1,000 “paper mosaicks” in the Department of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum.
I haven’t been back in years, but that connection persists in all sorts of ways.
My paper mosaic collages have won awards, been in gallery and museum shows on the West and East coasts of the US, and have been featured and used in publications in the US and UK.
Over time, I also drifted into the world of artist’s books, and these have been shown here in the US and in the UK and Australia. Zebra Crossing Picture Factory was what I called my long-time studio. The Paper Chipmunk Press is my bookmaking alter ego.