After spending the majority of her professional and scholarly career in the psychology field, an U.S. immigrant and first semester American River College student is now studying the subject she is the most passionate about: art.

Trude Zmoelnig worked as a psychologist at the Pelican Bay State Prison. She was able to incorporate art into her work there by teaching an art class for the inmates.

“I got to see aspects of my clientele that wouldn’t normally come out,” Zmoelnig said. “You know, emotions and colors are related and many of the prisoners reacted in a positive way.”

Pelican Bay Warden Clark E. Ducart, who was a correctional administrator during Zmoelnig’s time with the prison, said that her work with the inmates was one of the more “unique” things he’d seen while working there.

“She (Zmoelnig) really took a strong interest in every person she worked with,” Ducart said. “I think her art class is something that a lot of them still remember today.”

Zmoelnig grew up in Austria in the 1950s and was always surrounded by art, but, throughout the early stages of her life, it was never something that was fully “supported.” Art was an activity that her mother only told her to do in order to “keep her out of her hair.”

“I have been interested in art most of my life,” Zmoelnig said. “But, you know how it is, parents encourage you to do something that makes money.”

Following her parents aspirations, Zmoelnig put aside art to study psychology when she initially moved to America. However, art was always a part of her life.

“In between, there was always a little bit of art when I needed to quiet down,” said Zmoelnig. “I even did my dissertation and my master’s thesis on the affective value of colors. So, it was always with me, one way or another.”

American River College student Trude Zmoelnig looks at her artwork that she had painted recently. Zmoelnig taught art classes at Pelican Bay State Prison. (Photo by Jordan Schauberger)

After starting her studies in upstate New York, she eventually receiving her master’s degree at the United States International University (USIU) in San Diego.

Zmoelnig didn’t hit have her breakthrough as an artist until after she retired and took a portrait drawing workshop where she decided to switch it up by drawing with her left hand.

“I consciously decided to use my left and all of a sudden my stroke and everything was better, much stronger,” said Zmoelnig. “I never really fully pursued it (art) to the full extent because my right hand was just weak, but when I started using my left hand, everything took off and it pleased me more.”

She said using her left hand in art opened up a more spiritual realm of art.

“For me, art is now a very spiritual thing and, to me, from all the things I’ve done in my life, it makes the most sense,” said Zmoelnig. “When you have your feet on the ground, mother earth, you can actually feel that, me as an artist, I am not doing things on my own and I go to a level that is not just thinking.

“There are spirits, nature spirits, that are contributing to it, so I cannot say this is all my work. Things show up on the canvas and sometimes you have no idea where they came from.”

Zmoelnig said her work is often compared to that of Franz Marc, a painter in the early 20th century who was a key figure in the German expressionist movement in spite of the fact that she was not familiar with his work.

“The interesting thing is that he too was very interested in the spiritual aspect of art,” Zmoelnig said. “This is still one of my connections to the art world.”

At ARC, Zmoelnig has worked in a gallery operations course that she says has set her up with possible internships.

Gioia Fonda, an art professor at Sacramento City College, taught Zmoelnig at SCC and said that she was a “very dynamic” artist.

“The thing I liked most about her is how serious she is as an artist,” said Fonda. “She’s always open to change and criticism. She’s never afraid to experiment.”

Zmoelnig said that she is currently working on a project where she draws people that she sees when she’s riding the bus to and from school.