In 1964 I had the opportunity to study at Mexico City College. My frequent visits to the Museo de Antropologia, and the ancient Aztec ruins of Teotihuacan left strong impressions on me. The images of the feathered serpent and the jaguar danced in my imagination to the highly emotional music of the mariachi. This was the first of numerous visits I have made to Mexico for artistic and cultural nourishment. Later in 1967, filled with the ideals of the Kennedy years, I traveled to the high valleys of the Andes in Bolivia as a Peace Corps Volunteer. For two years I worked in the Sur Yungas as a medical technician. I lived very simply and in close relationship to the community and the land. During this period I collected folk art and chronicled the myths of the Aymara and Mestiso peoples that were my friends and neighbors. As in Mexico, there was a unique mixture of Catholic and Pagan symbols and beliefs at the center of the local mythology. In 1981 I stood on the South rim of the Grand Canyon in an ancient Hopi ruin which contained thousands of painted symbols on its interior walls. I stayed there hour after hour as tourists came and went, carefully studying and copying these images into my journal. These experiences and the pre-Hispanic ceramics of Mexico still inform my work decades later. My most powerful work always reflects a kind of primal quality that is uniquely mine and yet has a link to other cultures and times.

My environment is a deep source of inspiration for me. My studio and cabin are located on the edge of a lush and serene marshland in the coastal region of Mendocino County, California. From my windows overlooking the estuary below, I see endless life and beauty. The sea air, winter storms, herons and my garden are sources of great joy and revelation.

My love of Mexico, the land, its culture, art and people expanded to a move there. Since early 2001, my husband Richard and I have had the joy and privilege to live on the Jalisco coast where we now make our winter home.

Nansee at her
Fort Bragg Studio