Dorr Bothwell

After studying at the California School of Fine Arts under Gottardo Piazzoni, at the Rudolph Schaeffer School of Design, and at the University of Oregon, Bothwell began to live a largely nomadic life. The first of her travels was to Samoa, where she lived from 1928 to 1930 and was initiated into a native tribe and tattooed; future trips included West and North Africa, Indonesia, China, Japan, and Mexico. Throughout, Bothwell studied indigenous artistic traditions in order to discover their rules of design. Growing out of a deep understanding that all things are integrated, she learned to see order and design in nature. Translation from the Maya represents the essence of Bothwell’s artistic and spiritual search.
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In 1968, Bothwell (along with Marlys Mayfield) wrote a book on Eastern design principles coming out of her lifelong study.