Studio Art and Book Arts

Years later I found myself working part-time in a library to help pay my way through Mills College. This public library had a separate Art & Music Department. Jazz or classical music was always playing in that section and there were amazing art books. There was a Campbell's Tomato Soup can sitting on a shelf as homage to Andy Warhol. Since I was majoring in Studio Arts I spent a lot of time there finding books on technique and history. I loved the folios--what I call "picture books for adults."

I enjoyed it when I got extra hours working in that department, except for having to schlep and shelved all the big books. Kept me in great physical shape and I boasted that I had the most impressive bibliographies for the papers I wrote.

While attending Mills, the Olin Library was being built, an elegant modern structure to replace to cozy, if cramped (and a little bit haunted) Julia Morgan-constructed one. Mills also had a slide library in the Art History Department. I loved my art history classes, especially Asian Art, because of all the images of art that were flashed on the screen in the darkened auditorium. I never fell asleep but kept an eye out on a friend who did. I would sit behind her and kick her seat to wake her up.

I had wanted to design my own major, a combination of arts and writing and natural history, but didn't get much encouragement. Also I was trying to graduate as quickly as possible  Since I transferred in with many art history and photography credit earned at various California community colleges, I ended up taking the easy way out ( if anything at Mills was "easy",) and getting a BA in studio art and minoring in art history.

Two things had drawn me to Mills: the fine arts photographer, Catherine Wagner and the Book Arts program run by Kathy Walkup at Eucalyptus Press. I had seen Wagner's classroom series in a photography magazine and a customer at Adolph Gasser, Inc. in San Francisco told me about Mills Book Arts program. I had to go.

The fact is was a woman-only college was not an issue for me. Serendipitously, it turned out to be a great experience I recommend to other women thinking of going back to school. Mills did accepted male graduate students but there were not many. I'm sure my education was doubled by the presences of grad students, in some of my classes. And the amazing TAs.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teaching_assistant My best friend at Mills was a graduate student. Our ages and experiences were closer together.

As an older, commuter "resumer" student, I felt a bit alienated from the younger campus residents.  The student strike brought us all together as well as demonstrations against "Desert Storm", the first Gulf war. Attending Mills gave me the confident to carefully consider my belief and then to stand up for them.

It also taught me that I didn't want an MFA in studio arts.