Tom Askman

Tom Askman was born in 1941. He received a BFA and BA in Education from California College of the Arts, Oakland, CA and an MFA from University of Colorado, Boulder, CO (1968). Askman lives and works in Spokane, WA.

In San Francisco, Askman initially earned a bachelor's degree in education, enabling him to teach art at the K-12 level, but quickly returned to California College of Arts and Crafts to earn his Bachelor of Fine Arts. He followed that with a Master of Fine Arts at the University of Colorado, while also serving in Wyoming's Air National Guard, which kept him from being shipped to Vietnam.

Two brief college teaching gigs followed — University of Minnesota and Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana — before Askman joined a friend on a long-distance road trip to the Pacific Northwest for a college art teaching job fair. He offhandedly submitted his résumé to the small agricultural college in Cheney still known as Eastern.

Thirteen years into his tenure at EWU, Askman had a life-changing suicidal moment, and has been in recovery ever since. More than just stopping drinking, however, Askman describes starting something: "Experiencing love, contentment, intuitive knowing, purpose, community, happiness, deep connections with others and bliss."

SOURCE - https://www.contemporaryartscenter.org/artists/tom-askman (Aug, 2025) & https://www.inlander.com/culture/artist-tom-askman-embraces-ambiguity-in-his-teaching-artmaking-and-recently-released-book-with-sage-advice-not-just-for-artists-28566576 (Aug, 2025)