page no. 1 2 3 Dear Ulrike Mueller, I was privileged to be able to participate in the Feminist Art Program during my first year at CalArts. I had already been active in political causes, Viet Nam, Civil Rights etc., before attending the Institute. These experiences helped me to appreciate the support and validation available in the Program. The permissions learned in that environment allowed me to express my own feelings and ideas without needing approval from others. The experience also helped me to increase my esteem for "Women's" values. Values such as nurturing, sympathy, consensus and other positive actions and attitudes that can help all of us create a more egalitarian society. On the other hand, I also learned that, being human, women can be just as exploitive of women as men.     After graduation, I worked in a variety of Art related jobs. These jobs ranged from a layout artist at a screen printing factory to a "show puller" for an art auction warehouse. By the Spring of 1980, I was working as a construction worker for The Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art. It was at this job that I was the only non-Japanese to be able to work with Shiro Ikigawa on the construction of a Japanese house inside of LAlCA's downtown facility. That same Spring I married David Fick, BFA Art & Design, CalArts '77.			page no. 1 2 3 It was a busy year as the next stage of my adventure was at yet another job. That job was for a custom hand-painted fabric (canvas) company, California Drop Cloth. This was a job which required me to totally redesign and install a new paint and pigment department. My husband and I formed our own Fine Art Screen Printing Studio, IDAVID GraFicks, in 1983. Soon thereafter, we were privileged to work for and with David Hockney on his Joiners. In order to own our own studio and home and to raise a child, we moved to the beautiful Joshua Tree area. As we were in the process of finding the ideal location for home and studio, we printed a wedding invitation for our CalArts pal, Donna Butnick. She was getting married to Eric Schindler, grandson of the architect, and the invite was her image of THE SCHINDLER HOUSE where they were wed. Among IDAVID GraFicks recent projects is a 144 color screenprint for Robert Williams, prints for Raymond Pettibon and work for Bob Zzoell. While living out here in our desert paradise, I have also taken advantage of the opportunity to teach Art occasionally, for the local branch of Chapman University.     During this entire adventure, I have never stopped painting. I have usually been able to maintain a separate studio for my encaustic work. Even though the sales have been spotty and I have a hard time finding a "fit" with a gallery.			page no. 1 2 3 I seem to have the painting disease and it is probably terminal. Right as of this time, the images l'm working on are inspired by the Goddesses of the neolithic. Sincerely, Ida K. Foreman-Fick