As a child I could rarely be found without a pencil in hand, constantly drawing, doodling, designing, creating. No phone-pad or book cover was left without my mark. As a young adult I dreamt of attending art school, to become a Medical Illustrator. Instead, I became a Medical Technologist, the closest thing to Medical Illustration that any advisor could recommend. I married a doctor, set down my pencil and raised a family. My life was what many would call the “American Dream.” But without art I felt empty and unfulfilled. While my children were at home I was happy enough, but when they left for college the old hankering to study with really fine artists returned.

One sunny June day, in the first year of a brand new century, I filed for divorce changed my life in ways I never imagined. That very day I made an appointment to speak with an admissions counselor at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. I had no portfolio to submit and had not drawn in nearly 20 years. Still, they recognized my desire, my need, to attend art school and arranged for me to take a few classes in order to build a portfolio and re-apply. In May of 2004 I graduated with 23 of the most talented Illustrators ever to pass through the doors of MIAD. It was an experience well worth waiting for. I hadn't felt so blessed since my children were born!

While at MIAD I struggled to find a place in my new world. At first I pursued Communication Design and took enough classes to earn a Minor, but I really missed the hands-on feel of paper, pencil and scissors. Instead I decided to focus on Illustration; it was an opportunity to use a wide variety of media while telling a story with my art. I began to collect fine hand-made papers, rich in color and texture. The way these papers could be ripped to form soft cloud-like edges or sharply cut to define a variety of shapes fascinated me. In many ways paper collage was more intriguing than anything I could do with a pencil or brush. I loved the depth I could achieve with layers of paper and how the addition of found objects could change the meaning of a piece. Having waited two decades for formal art training offered me an unexpected new tool for my palette, the computer. Many of my pieces are actually several layers of art, combined digitally. A new style was born!

While a sophomore at MIAD I sold my first professional piece: "The Great Circus Train" poster for the 2002 Circus Parade. The "Celtic Dragon" in my portfolio was one of three final designs considered for the 2003 Irish Fest poster. "Oursi" is a little stuffed polar bear that my daughter, Nila Varma, received as a gift from a friend in Paris, where she lived and worked. A number of my scenes of Milwaukee appear in a beautiful coffee table book, called "Milwaukee Sketchbook," launched early in 2006 by Indigo Publishing. The images of the little mouse were part of my Senior Thesis, a children’s book entitled "The Wedding of the Mouse: An Asian Folktale" that was release on November 1, 2006, by Playground Press LLC.

As a student most of my work was done in a delightful studio space, in the old servants quarters and ballroom on the top floor of an old restored lakeside mansion on Milwaukee’s Eastside, where I also resided. It was a wonderful place to rediscover my art, close to all that Milwaukee has to offer and convenient to Madison, where my son, Som Varma II, worked and attended school. My Sheltie, Miel, and my little black barn cat, Amelia, were and are my constant companions while I create.

I am lucky enough to have found a new love in my life, Gordon Mueller, who appreciates and supports my art. We were married on May 15, 2005 and I became Trish Williams Mueller. We are now a family of 6, Gordie and I, Miel and Ameila, Gordie's big old tomcat, Cisco, and a new calico named Spice! The original master bedroom of our Glendale home has become my new studio. The addition of a solar tube over my father's old drafting table makes it a cheerful and comfortable place to continue my work.

I have been working closely with my good friend and agent, Kathy Kapsos Suhr, who has been actively working to make my artwork more visible in the Metropolitan Milwaukee area. She has placed my work in various cafes, shops and shows, and acted as liaison with Children's Hospital of Wisconsin to arrange some fine arts commissions for me. Most recently, she has joined with me to create the publishing company Playground Press LLC that produced my first children's book. Another one is on its way, as well as several more collaborations. Life is good!

---Trish Williams: November 2006