Alexis Johnson is a Shasta County native, raised on the family ranch, near Pittville. Her first art was a drawing of a safety pin at the age of two. She drew it because she couldn’t tell her mother what she wanted to play with. From that moment, art has been central to Alexis’s life. Following high school, she enrolled at UC Davis as an Art Studio major. She studied under well-known painter Wayne Thiebaud and others in a faculty that also included Robert Arneson, renowned ceramics artist. Her formal education concluded with a study-abroad session at the University of Edinburgh. Alexis graduated with honors in 1977. She then moved home to Fall River Mills to raise a family of four with husband, Bill. When the children began attending school, Alexis went back to university to obtain a teaching credential, and wound up with two. One was an art credential, and the other was multiple subjects, which qualified her to teach at the elementary school level. After teaching high school art for 13 years, she was tasked with a new job, teaching elementary students. It was a shock and a rather stressful change. To remain somewhat sane during this three-year stretch, she began to draw in small sketchbooks. She took to heart a saying of Michelangelo, “Disegna Sempre, E Non Perder Tempo,” which is, “Always be drawing and do not waste time.” During her art-teaching career, she became active in the California Arts Project and was among the first National Board Assessors for the certification of art teachers. Alexis is now retired and is enjoying life in her art studio, located in the historic Pittville Store, near McArthur, in eastern Shasta County. The structure was built in 1904 and has wonderful light, very high ceilings, and a peaceful atmosphere. She continues to teach art to young students from Shasta View Academy as well as giving book- making demonstrations to anyone who’s interested.