Artist's Biography
Idell Weiss, a native Californian, has lived most of her life in San Francisco. While her initial
profession was that of physical therapist, she has always partaken in various forms of creative
handiwork, not only painting but also jewelry-making and sewing.
At one time, as a physical therapist, she worked at the Northern California School for Cerebral
Palsied Children. This position called for creative skills in helping design special equipment and
adaptations for wheelchairs, body braces, crutches, and seating for the patients residing at the
school. While working there, Idell was drawn to the visual arts applied by the occupational therapists —
painting, weaving, collage, etc., and, as time allowed, she began to take an occasional painting class.
This led her to pursue formal art education, and, ultimately, the full time devotion to painting.
She is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and the University of California at San
Francisco, Curriculum in Physical Therapy. She also studied art at Harvard-Radcliffe College and the
Cambridge Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and San Francisco City College, the University of California
Extension Center, and Fort Mason Art Center in San Francisco.
Two illustrations of her work are found in the book, Art of Northern California, published by
Alcove Books.
She enjoys travel and hiking, especially in high country mountain venues, and takes inspiration for
painting from these pursuits, whether the finished work becomes representational or abstract.
