Bernadette DiPietro was born in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania in a large Italian family immersed in a rich cultural tradition. She was influenced by the cooking of her mother, the love of gardening from her grandfather, the business sense of her grandmother, and the creative mind of her father.

She studied at the University of Pittsburgh and the Ivy School of Professional Art and taught art in the 1960’s with the “War on Poverty Program.” After studying textile design at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts she spent the next fifty years using wax, dye, and watercolors as her medium creating batik on fabric and handmade paper. The result is a beautiful synthesis of ancient technique and modern art. In addition, she conducts workshops preserving the ancient art of Ukrainian egg decoration. Her newest works are abstract mixed media assemblages incorporating found materials on board or canvas. She is the author of The ABC’s Of Batik, Laundry Lines, Wild Edible and Medicinal Herbs of the Ojai Valley, and has been published in numerous publications.

In 1971 Bernadette moved to Ojai California where she continued her long standing commitment to art education and is the recipient of the National Outstanding Art Educator Award. She has guest lectured at University of California campuses in San Diego and Santa Barbara, and in 1994 she was chosen as a Living Treasure for the Visual Arts. She has traveled extensively around the world collecting Folk Art, gathering inspiration for future works of art, teaching art on cruise ships, and photographing laundry lines.

Her art has been exhibited in museums and galleries since 1979 and is included in private collections throughout the world. She is the owner of Bamboo Cottage Studio.