By 1981, my work had begun to disappear. I had achieved a level of accomplishment, if not expertise, in painting and drawing, and I had a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting from Memphis State University to prove it. In spite of that, I had long given up painting. I was satisfied with what I knew and could do, and that's all that mattered. I was on to other things.

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I began doing what might be called, for lack of a better term, conceptual drawings. Although I was not yet familiar with the likes of Donald Burgy, Robert Barry, Douglas Huebler, or any of the Fluxus text scores of George Brecht, La Monte Young, and others, myy research soon led me to all of them. of ato separate myself from my work even further than the 

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I moved to Houston in the late summer of 1981 to attend graduate school at the University of Houston. I spent many hours exploring the campus, trying to understand it. As this would be where I would be spending a significant amount of my time for the next few years, I tried to digest it as quickly as possible. One of the places where I spent a lot time was the university library. Needless to say, it was different then than what it is now. One of the more significant differences was the absence of computers. Instead, however, the library made available typewriters and copiers to assist in research or writing. I typed my master's thesis paper on a typewriter there.

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One machine that they made available was a labeling machine. One could type words on it, and it would print those words onto a thin strip of clear cellophane tape. This strip of words could then, ostensibly, be attached to paper to achieve some sort of graphic punch beyond that of typewriter type. Because the words were on clear tape, when copies were made, only the words would show. By any standards of today, it was crude. I had never seen one before and found it interesting.

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