In this chapter of Diary of a Stealth Sketcher I am honored to bring you an interview with guest artist Mary Ida Henrikson.
I met Mary Ida Henrikson in 1970, when she was completing her MFA at Claremont Graduate University. After graduate school, she made her living on the ocean, on the pipeline, and in towns and cities all over Alaska.
Now she resides in her home town of Ketchikan, where she is a loved and respected member of the artist community.
As her writing and paintings attest, she is deeply connected to the ways of life, history, and complex ecosystem of the shores and forests of Southeast Alaska.
Mary Ida Henrikson was in Anchorage this week to launch her book, The Fire Trees of Southeast Alaska.
I interviewed her about that project, her explorations and adventures, and how she has developed as an artist since we met.