About the Artist

Tricia O’Brien was born in Michigan in 1963, and moved to San Francisco in 1981.  She studied textiles at SF State with Candice Crockett, then later finished her BFA in Painting, Drawing and Printmaking at Cal State Hayward in 2001, earning a juried Award for Excellence in the 3-dimensional work of Xerox Transfer for a hand-crafted book.  At Hayward, she was introduced to printmaker Jimin Lee, and fell in love with the printing press and the many faceted processes of printmaking.  In 2021, after retiring from the hospitality industry, she reignited her relationship with printmaking.  Her unique, one of a kind Monoprints are made using recyclable materials; plastic bags, string, cardboard, bicycle inner tubing, paper and additional packing materials that are put through the press.  Tricia is interested in the play and surprise of the image you get with these discarded materials as it intersects with the structure of the printing press process.  She teaches printmaking at the Sonoma Community Center in Sonoma, Benicia Arts Center Annex as well as Diablo Valley College.  She is a member of the Sonoma Arts Guild and the California Society of Printmakers. She lives in Sonoma with her family.