Biography

Marlana born in Ottumwa, Iowa. Raised in Oskaloosa, where the rural setting informed her aesthetic.

Moves with family to Laramie, Wyoming for father’s academic appointment at UW School of Law. Spends time in Medicine Bow Range and in the Colorado Rockies. Inherits father’s dream of living in the American West. Secretly draws in closets and on walls to the consternation of parents.

Moves back to Iowa when father engages in private practice and enters 4-H, competitive swimming and starts riding lessons.

Tours EXPO 67 in Montréal and gets sense of global scene. Develops extensive seashell collection and starts keeping personal drawing journals.

Engages in swimming and raising and training Morgan horses … achieving several state championships in English Pleasure and Pleasure Driving with King Cobra and Keomah Ann. Develops understanding that “touch communicates volumes.”

Enters foundation program at Kansas City Art Institute in place of senior year of high school. Studies calligraphy with Carl Kurtz and lithography with Bill McKim, (in the school of Thomas Hart Benton). Adopts the habit of daily journal entries with imagery.

Travels for study in Vienna, Austria. Notes the use of gardens in health care settings and for personal use in most homes.

BFA, Colorado State University. Also camp counselor with Cheley Co. Camps in Estes Park and Glenhaven, Co.

MFA, Wichita State University.

Begins 13-yr term as Artist in Residence with Kansas Arts Commission and NEA Funding, (USD 495 and Dodge City Community College).

Lawrence Lithography Workshop Grant, Lawrence, KS. (Prints from the period acquired for the permanent collection of the Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas.)

Work included in Mid-Four Biennial, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO.

Receives travel grants to live and work in Aix-en-Provance, and Valouse, France. Notes extensive use of gardens in all settings.

Artist in Residence, Neskowin Coast Foundation, Aka, Sitka Center for Art and Ecology. Work represented by Maveety Gallery and Reuben Saunders Gallery.

Receives the Grumbacher Gold Medal in Watercolor, Wichita Art Museum, Wichita, KS.

Moves to West Linn to set up full time studio practice, and starts adoption process that will lead to adoption of daughter. Work shown in Musee Granet, Aix-en-Provance, France.

Completes MAIS from Marylhurst University. Thesis: “Why Drawing Matters: an examination of drawing through a spiritual lens.” Work shown at St. John’s College, Santa Fe.

Work represented by RC Gallery, Beppuwiarda Gallery, Butters Gallery. Continues refinement of painting process, limited to oil. Work show in U.S. Embassy, Mali, Africa. Work published in numerous national journals.