Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
― Mary Oliver

Okinawa, Japan is where I call home. I was born in the pottery district of the capital city, Naha, on that tropical island until I left at 18. My mother was Okinawan and my father was from West Virginia. The benefit of two cultures has left me enriched with the qualities of both. Although my art training is in the classical western tradition, my aesthetics have always been eastern. I married young and raised a family before I went to school and trained to be an artist. I always knew I would train in art and had no desire for anything else. I started school at Bakersfield College and went on to receive my Bachelor’s degree in art at California State University, Bakersfield. From there I continued at New Mexico State University to receive my Master of Fine Arts in painting and drawing. I taught in the Las Cruces, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas area prior to my moving to teach at Big Bend Community College. While in Las Cruces, I also worked at the University Art Gallery and Kent Museum as curator/registrar/collections person- basically, whatever needed doing.

I have taught at Big Bend since 1998 and have enjoyed the relative quiet of the area. There are few distractions and I can focus on my own work (in my infrequent spare time). The students are eager for the most part and want to do well. According to my DNA results, I am related to the people who made the terra cotta warriors in China. My husband is a ceramics artist and teaches at Big Bend. It is great to have a colleague and friend all in the family. He is my best supporter. I guess it was all in my DNA and birthplace to be with a ceramics person.

See video, slideshow, and one line selfie art here: Rie Palkovic, Art Instructor.

Passion Project Show Case:Dr. Jim Hamm, Physics Instructor; Constellations and Stars

Passion Project Showcase: Big Bend Community CollegeBy Rhonda K. KitchensJun 02, 2021