Deborah​ K. Tash​​/White Wolf Woman

In Her Image Studio

Born in 1949 in Oakland, California and raised in Alameda from the age of ten, I was shaped by both a dual heritage and a childhood marked by polio. Both of these influences contributed to my preoccupation with solitary activities. Daydreaming, reading, writing poetry and art making were augmented by telepathic conversations with the screech owls that lived in the 100 foot Eucalyptus tree that grew in my backyard and was also my best friend in childhood. These early Shamanic/psychic experiences led me out of organized religion and into the pagan community in my early twenties where I became a dedicated worshiper of the Goddess and the Divine Feminine. As a Mestiza and native of the Northern California Bay Area, I have explored the Mexican/Yaqui half of my heritage from my mother’s line, working with the TonantzinGuadalupe theme, as well as exploring it in my poetry and my father's English/Irish/Scottish line which includes strong Celtic influences.

The impulse to make art began with a love of paper dolls and experimenting with writing and penmanship. At eight I began to write short stories and poetry as a member of the Aunt Elsie Club. By the age of eighteen drawing and painting invisible faces became an entry point for more fully exploring visual art. At twenty-five I attended Shasta Community College in Redding, CA with visual art as a major. After returning to San Francisco in the late 1970’s and subsequently moving back to Oakland, I founded Cloudscape Design mural company, offering interior murals tailored to the psychic profiles of my clients. One of my commissioned pieces for the 1982 Designer Showcase was included in an article for a design magazine popular in the 1980’s. In that same time period I also completed a commissioned piece for the Port of Oakland’s conference room as well as many commissioned pieces for private collectors.

The intervening years as a Wiccan, massage therapist/body worker and Shamanic/psychic healer helped to shape my work to my current interests in the spiritual unfolding into the physical. As a resident of San Francisco for over twenty five years I have continued to develop working in mask making and drawing, as well as experimenting with adding my poetry into my paintings and assemblages. I have also continued my study of ceramics since 2007 and have explored the introduction of ceramic objects into my paintings, as well.

As a member of the Cosmic Cowgirls/Red Thread online community I participated in three cycles of poetry and art making in Raven and Rose, Marked By The Muse and Author Your Future. And as a published poet have four books available on Amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com  Inspired By The Tides, Voice Of The Poet In Troubled Times and, most recently, Harvesting The Moon and Soft Power/Reclaiming The Sacred Cunt Project as well as having poems included in three anthologies; two volumes of San Francisco Peace and Hope Journal and This Time Around 2014 Eber and Wein Publication. In 2018 I also received a third prize in the 25th Annual Dancing Poetry Festival and in 2021 won Grand Prize in the 28th Annual Dancing Poetry Festival, as well.

Deborah Tash