MENDOCINO, CA — A private business destroyed by a wildfire has become all too familiar to Californians across the state. In northern counties, massive fires in recent years appear to have escalated in size, damage and the number of residents and animals displaced. In Mendocino, Felicia Rice, owner of Moving Parts Press, knows all this too well.
Originally from Mendocino, Rice returned to the coast to restart her life and business after the Santa Cruz resort fire in August 2020 destroyed everything she owned. However, something magical can happen when a person has deep roots in their hometown and deep roots in the artistic community of Santa Cruz.
His loss was devastating and his only option was to return to the Mendocino family home to have a roof over his head. A colleague suggested creating a page on the Go Fund Me website, then took on the responsibility of doing it. Almost immediately, Rice said, “it was a tidal wave of response.”
As of October 2020, Rice had enough funds to purchase a letterpress printer from Casper. “About 800 people, organizations and institutions have supported my recovery with donations,” Rice said. “This building is built entirely through donations.” The building she refers to is her new boutique located behind the small family home in a quiet lane overlooking the ocean.
Until now, she had worked first in her father’s old art shed, then in a storage container, then back in the shed when approval of the construction plan ran up against many multiple hitches. She thought construction would be ready to start in April 2021, but nothing started until May 2022.
The plan itself was one his father devised 40 years ago, but he never innovated. Rice would now realize that dream. She would also keep her father’s century-old shed intact while moving it from where the new modern shop would be.
It is still awaiting final inspection after construction and a business license. The final stages of exterior painting and trim are currently underway. She moved the print shop in mid-August and got to work as sawdust “flying everywhere” outside. As a result, she said her first print sample of a book about her recovery was “actually quite grainy.”
Her book project, “Heavy Lifting,” is an artist’s book of poetry and art reflecting Rice’s crisis of loss as a juxtaposition to what she describes as the unresolved “collective national crises” that plague the country. Most of the poetry comes from the pen of Theresa Whitehill, a former Poet Laureate from Mendocino County. Rice’s own poem will appear on the final panel, describing “my flight from the fire and my recovery in Mendocino.”
The structure of the book’s pages is a series of folded panels that Rice said “open like a bird’s wings.” The pages can also be extended like an accordion and used as a display. Next spring, she plans to show “Heavy Lifting” at a series of scheduled events in Mendocino and Lake counties, where memories of wildfires are strong.
Rice describes it as “a pretty dark book. It is a description of the afterlife. Some pages display images of recent discordant events covered by the media. “The fact is,” she says, “we all have to process those feelings, and talking is one of the best ways to do that between us. We invite people to join us. Listen to our words and share your thoughts. lyrics.
The book events will also include a video of notable regional poets, including Point Arena’s Sidney Regelbrugge and Lake County’s Georgina Marie Duardado, reciting four of the poems, while wrapped around the walls, immersive imagery from the book will hover, and shadows of people drifting inside. Participants will have the opportunity to later participate in a one-day bookmaking workshop in Mendocino.
For Rice, it will be the culmination of two generations of family artists creating and building what she calls an “alternative economy” in the community. She noted, “My parents, Ray and Miriam Rice, came here and founded the Art Center. My mother said that her generation had to create their own jobs to live.
She added: “I went to Santa Cruz in 1972 and I made it there. I was part of a small group of companies contributing to this economy. We put Santa Cruz on the map as center of bookmaking and a culture that now represents a significant part of the economy.
Rice explained, “I think the awareness of the written word is a tremendous contribution to our life together as a community. I am a cultural worker. I build a community. She admits that Mendocino as an artistic community is much more isolated than Santa Cruz, but, she says, “that means we just need each other more and should share our ideas and our stories.”
Rice joined the CTE program at Mendocino High School and will mentor two assistants this year. She knows from her own life how valuable vocational training can be for young people. She sees the program as a realistic path for students to learn about the world of work and how to run a business.
Meanwhile, Rice is sending thank you notes and progress updates to all of her donors. “I couldn’t have done this without these donors. My equipment was in ashes. There was nothing. It’s really, really remarkable, everyone who helped. She also named Jimmy Brown and Little River Building, architect Kelly Grimes, his family and all his friends.
In the meantime, there is more to do. She is partnering with art historian Mary Thomas, director of programs at the US Latinx Art Forum in Minneapolis, on a book about the history of Moving Parts Press. Most of the first draft is complete. Rice will also be interviewed for the Smithsonian’s Archive of American Artists.
Artist Felicia Rice is certain of her purpose within the business community of art creation and production. “I’m here to contribute to the light and make it better,” she said. “I have done this all my life and will continue to do so.”