The Japanese are hard to understand, but once you do the world is your oyster.

I know that I was conscious of all the aspects of the war, having had cousins who were in the army, who would send me notes and memorabilia. I began to collect things that they would send me.

In a social studies class I did a paper on the history of Attica, which ended up being a little book that I created.

I think I was really naïve. I had no context to think about what I wanted to do. Each step was a next stage of exploration.

I was always making things. I made model airplanes and did a number of hands-on activities. I liked creating in some form or another, not realizing what it was all about.

I learned from books that I picked up. That was something that just came out of nowhere but continued to be an attraction. So there was a continuum of my interest in the arts and involvement in creating that was strong enough that it later blossomed into much more.

When knowledge is scant or conflicting, folklore takes over.