MIRIAM TARCOV - ARTIST
Miriam's Biography
While in graduate school in Art History at the University of Michigan, Miriam studied works by Carl Jung and Giuseppe Tucci on the theories, practices, iconography, and art of the mandala. She was particularly interested in the Tibetan Buddhist mandalas. After graduation Miriam began to paint mandalas, working with acrylics, watercolors, and ink.
Miriam’s paintings and etchings have been exhibited in galleries and museums in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Minneapolis. Her early works are in private collections throughout the United States.
Miriam began painting mandalas, working with acrylics, watercolors, and ink on canvas and masonite. She and José painted several full-sized doors (the most well-known were Radiant Man and Radiant Woman) which were later produced both in the book Mandala and as large posters.
During an art exhibition at the Princeton Art Gallery Miriam and her then husband, José Argüelles, met the distinguished English Professor Dr. Humphry Osmond, also known for inventing the word “psychedelic” and a good friend of the writer Aldous Huxley. Upon seeing their painted doors, Dr. Osmond exclaimed “These are The Doors of Perception! If only Aldous were alive to see this.”
In 1971 Miriam met the Tibetan Buddhist meditation master Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Wanting to deepen her studies, six years later she and her family moved to Boulder, Colorado, where Trungpa Rinpoche had established his international headquarters. She stopped painting and devoted her time to raising her children and studying with Chögyam Trungpa. Miriam also worked for the international organization he founded, then called Vajradhatu, and was a board member of the Boulder Center for the Visual Arts. She was Vajradhatu’s Deputy Director of External Affairs for Vajradhatu and the Nalanda Foundation. and the second editor-in-chief of the Vajradhatu Sun, now known as the Lion’s Roar magazine.
Miriam and José wrote two books together, including the bestselling book Mandala, with an introduction written by the Venerable Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. It was published in 1972 at the cusp of a generation exploring Eastern religions and practice. Considered as a “modern classic,” Miriam and José were invited to speak and lead workshops for professionals and laypeople throughout the United States. Miriam lectured on the application and creation of mandalas at numerous psychology departments, hospitals, and education centers, including the California Napa State Hospital, the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, the Maryland Art Therapy Association, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D.C., and George Washington University.
Because of Miriam’s continued study of the feminine and masculine principles in world cultures, as well as her interest in the women’s movement, she initiated the writing of The Feminine: Spacious as the Sky, published by Shambhala Publications in 1977.
Mandala developed a large following, influencing a generation of artists. For Miriam and José, the popularity of the book resulted in speaking tours, exhibitions, and workshops for professionals and laypeople throughout the United States.
In 1987, Miriam moved to Nova Scotia, where Vajradhatu reestablished its international headquarters. Shortly after her move her beloved first child, Joshua, at the age of eighteen died in a car accident. A few years later, she initiated the project development of the Grief Resource Network of Nova Scotia.
Miriam returned to the States in 1999, settling in Tucson where her daughter Tara lived. The brilliant sunlight of the Sonoran Desert inspired her to paint once more. Returning to painting part-time, she now had a lifetime of experiences from which to literally draw. Miriam retired from her not-for-profit work in 2010. She now lives in Scottsdale with her husband Richard Dashiell, a retired musician and businessman, whom she often refers to as her muse.
Miriam recently published a memoir, Suddenly Without Warning: A Mother’s Journey Through Grief, available on Amazon. Among her endorsements are:
Heartfelt, honest, at turns searing and humorous, Miriam’s memoir brings the reality of impermanence along with deep comfort to anyone facing loss, especially of a child or loved one. As a mother, bearing witness to Miriam’s composure, grace, and grit at the sudden death of her son touched me deeply. Leading by example, she shares potent teachings to help us navigate traumatic, untimely loss. We learn with her that how we handle the death of those we love is an indicator of how we’ll ultimately handle our own death. Thank you, Miriam, for this magnificent food for thought and care.
— Elena Brower, best-selling author of
Practice You, Softening Time, Being You,
and Art of Attention.
The death of one’s child is every parent’s greatest fear. My life-long friend Miriam Tarcov’s journey through the loss of her son and the grief that ensued is a universal story. But due to her Buddhist training, what she is able to convey as her way through her grief can be of benefit to anyone who has experienced great trauma directly, as well as the friends and relatives of those who are suffering.
— Samuel Bercholz, author of A Guided Tour of Hell
and co-editor of The Buddha and His Teachings.
With tremendous clarity and insight, guided by her years of Buddhist training, Miriam Tarcov intimately shares the story of Joshua, her 18-year-old son who died in a car accident, and the poignant first year and significant points beyond. As the seasons shift and change, so too does the nature of her grief. She bravely opens wide the door to her inner journey. For Tarcov, it is an elemental space of becoming a mother who has lost her son. Her grief is held by the vividness of each season and each landmark without him. She bravely carries us with her as the reality of his death becomes more real, and the rituals of life are re-written.
— Johanna J. Lunn, founder of the When You Die Project,
and award-winning filmmaker whose work includes
Saying Goodbye and Architecture of Death.