Raised in Mount Pleasant, Michigan Ken Rothman left high school at age 16 for Shimer College in Illinois, then left college at 19 for an ashram in India. "After four years, I'd had enough of celibacy," says Rothman, who returned home for a psychology degree from Central Michigan, then came to the UO in 1978 for graduate work.

"I didn't enjoy school, but I liked Eugene and stayed. I planted several hundred thousand trees in four years with the Hoedad's."

"Working with the mental health system consumers at a nonprofit agency in the 1980s Rothman found that many had been abused as children. He became an activist for education about child abuse, speaking at conferences, and consulting with agencies. He served three, four-year terms on a state child abuse advisory panel

Inspired by a painting demo by Elaine Fielder at a Hakomi training in 1988, Rothman developed his WildArt! technique to explore the creativity of the unconscious. "I teach meditation." He says, "People follow the meditation deep into their unconscious, surprising things happen."

Adapted from a biography by Paul Neevel for the Eugene Weekly, by permission

“A nationally known artist” The Artist Exchange 1994