About the Artist

When artist Emily Talley creates her artwork, she has a sense of "interbeing," of being part of something greater than her individual self.  This feeling is expressed in the words of Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh: “If you are a poet, you will see clearly that there is a cloud floating in this piece of paper. Without a cloud there will be no water; without water, the trees cannot grow; and without trees, you cannot make paper. So the cloud is in here. The existence of this page is dependent on the existence of a cloud. Paper and cloud are so close...”

Talley has been an artist since early childhood, and by her adolescence, she had grown passionate about creating artwork.  She credits her art with helping her through some very challenging times in her life. "My artwork has given me a way to both contain and express powerful emotions that might have otherwise overwhelmed me," Talley says.

Formal art training began for Talley at the age of 16 when she started studying figurative sculpture under Frank Morgan in San Diego, California.  She studied under Morgan for four years, and then moved to Minnesota in the early 1980’s upon acceptance to the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD).  Her studies at MCAD focused on composition, color theory, drawing, and painting.  She was also very interested in math and physics and studied those topics at nearby colleges.  She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Arts with a minor in Mathematics. She then continued on to graduate school in several disciplines including Architecture, Computer Science, and Law. She earned a Master of Science degree in Software Engineering in 2009.

In 2016, Talley was juried into the National Association of Women Artists (NAWA).  Her pieces have won awards and some have been used as cover art in the advertisement of exhibitions.  According to NAWA, “Many members and supporters have exhibited in major museums and have taken their rightful place among the recognized artists of their time. Louise Nevelson, Malvina Hoffman, Cleo Hartwog, Minna Citron, Nell Blaine, Dorothy Dehner, Alice Neel, Marisol, Pat Adams, Judy Chicago, Miriam Schapiro, Janet Fish and Audrey Flack, and other contemporary talented artists.”

Talley joined the Women's Art Registry Minnesota (WARM) in 2017, and greatly enjoyed her involvement with that group.  She exhibited her artwork in several of their exhibitions and won a People's Choice Award.

Talley currently works in St. Paul, Minnesota, and her art studio is in her home.