Priscilla Malone
Born and raised into a family of five children in the beautiful seaport town of Port Washington, NY, Priscilla enjoyed art and music almost from the start, always coloring, always singing. But a fourth grade teacher’s painfully critical (and damaging) judgment of her drawing of a tree destroyed any passion for art she may have been nurturing. So she tucked the Crayolas away and dove into her other love – music! Throughout high school she concentrated in music, occasionally dabbling in art. Where one teacher’s actions destroyed her confidence as a would-be artist, another teacher provided the support and encouragement to try again. After concentrating on music for four years, she entered college, declaring ART as her major! After studying art and music at Marywood University in Scranton, PA she earned her bachelor’s degree in Fine Art in 1976. Priscilla also studied painting, and glass painting with internationally acclaimed Lithuanian artist, V.K. Jonynas in Jamaica, Queens for a year prior to moving to Rochester, NY, in 1977. There she pursued her artistic endeavors at Rochester Institute of Technology and in 1979 was awarded her MFA in Painting and (nope, not music this time!) Woodworking! During that time she was exhibiting and selling her paintings in numerous galleries, shows and exhibits throughout New York State. In 1978 she married Tom Malone and became assistant and artistic designer for the Malone Studio, Inc., specializing in stained glass commissions for architectural liturgical commissions, as well as commercial, residential and educational properties throughout the northeast. For nearly 20 years, she put her own artistic career on ‘hold’ to nurture their three daughters and concentrated on designing windows for stained glass commissions. The little family moved from Long Island in 1990 to create the bed and breakfast, Elm Tree Cottage, in Newport, RI. The two quickly transformed a deteriorating 1882, 9,000 square foot summer ‘cottage’ into an internationally acclaimed, award-winning bed and breakfast! There, for 14 years they maintained all operations of running the inn, simultaneously worked on stained glass commissions and raised their daughters! It wasn’t easy, but it all ‘worked’! Priscilla resumed her painting in early 2000, and with the undaunted support of her husband, jumped into shows, exhibits, commissions and sales as if no time had lapsed from those graduate school days. (ps – they dissolved the bed and breakfast and sold the property in 2003!)