Our Team
The Esmeralda High Desert Board of Directors
Our board is collection of creative artists and scientists from a variety of backgrounds.

FOUNDER
President /Secretary
Astrid Larsen
Astrid Larsen would rather be outside.
She has a BA in Art and an MA in Psychology. She is a working artist and continues engagement in the psychology field. Her art career has spanned the US and Denmark, with brief appearances in Taiwan and Canada. She curated two large scale events with a roster of international artists under the auspices of the Center on Contemporary Art (COCA) in Seattle. Living in the high desert in Esmeralda County is the highlight of her life. She identifies now as a rural artist. Outlier Studios in Goldfield, NV is operated by her and husband Richard Johnson. They are dedicated to amplifying art and science in rural Nevada.

FOUNDER
In the field
Richard Johnson
Richard Johnson is a painter, printmaker and silversmith. Born and raised in rural northern California; he's been making art all his life. In 1973 after discharge from the Army he moved to Washington state where he worked in the construction trades for many years. He is primarily self taught as an artist. However, in the late 1990s he went back to school and got a masters degree in fine art. He also holds a masters degree in counseling psychology and worked in the mental health field as a drug and alcohol counselor. In 2019 he moved to Goldfield with wife Astrid Larsen where they built Outlier Studios. He is a board member for the International Car Forest of the Last Church. He spends time in the desert rockhounding and prospecting for turquoise.

Board member
Mike Power
Mike Power is a geologist & geophysicist has a B.Sc. (Hon) Geology and M.Sc. Geophysics from the University of Alberta. He has worked in mining exploration for precious metals, diamonds and base metals across Northern Canada, Alaska and Nevada since 1984. Before that, he was an infantry officer, trapper and oilfield roughneck. He spends 7-8 months of the year working from Goldfield, running Silver Range Resources Ltd., a gold & silver mining exploration company. His other home is in the Yukon.

Board member
Joan Paye
Raised by the surroundings of the Acequia Madre, New Mexico, Joan Paye continues to explore the Southwestern landscape as Las Vegas, Nevada, became her basecamp in 2006. Inspired by Julia Cameron's "The Artists Way," Paye established the Art Barn Workshop LLC in 2022, which facilitates mobile creativity outreach events, in partnership with local organizations and artists.
Paye has a natural ability to integrate corporate relationships with community needs. She has led in volunteer roles with The Girl Scouts of America, Vegas Roots Community Garden, and a rosary of local churches. She has former board experience with The Southern Nevada Conservancy and The Cox Charities Advisory Board. These relationships run parallel with a career spanning over 40 years in marketing, project development, and team building, with companies such as HBO, Microsoft, and Cox Communications.
As a Certified Interpretive Guide and social practice artist, Paye responds to the burgeoning high-tech world that has left a yearning for genuine human connection. She recognizes the need to counterbalance the digital era's impersonal nature with tangible creative experiences that spark joy and a sense of belonging.

Board member
Katy Fox
Katy Ann Fox is the owner, operator and an artist at Foxtrot Fine Art in Driggs. She has lived and created in the Tetons for a decade and it is quite likely she is held together by paint. After developing a deep appreciation for Nevada during summers spent as a recreation technician in the state, she joyfully completed a month-long artist residency in Goldfield, Nevada in the spring of 2022. Born in Idaho - studied in San Francisco - developed in Jackson Hole - returned to Idaho - lover of Nevada - not to mention all the wind and sunshine along the way. She is an oil painter, potter, entrepreneur and creativity enthusiast.
Her BS in Business Economics with an art minor is from University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. She has an MFA in painting from the Academy of Art university in San Francisco.
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