Pat Marsello's formal training consists of instruction in Chinese brushwork from three teachers (Paul Hogan, Betty Painter and Ooh Mei Shou). Pat learned to grind her ink on a soapstone, charge her brush correctly with ink and then paint the same stroke hundreds of times.

The rainbow of grays which exists between black and white became her palate and a stoke of the brush became (after twenty-five years of practice) the back of a fish, a leaf of grass, or the wing of a dragonfly.
Pat painted only on paper and silk until 1990 when her brushes found clay. When a brush paints onto wet clay, the hairs of the brush separate and texture the surface. There is a depth to it unlike any other material.

Pat studied hand building and wheel work with Lou D'Amico for a year and now paints with oxides on stoneware and porcelain. The contrast between the brushwork and white clay creates a focus on composition and Ch'I yun, or "the spirit of a painting".

This same spirit lives in the three dimensions of clay as well and is the center of her work. Combining clay with other materials such as paper, wood and stone in a balanced and mindful way adds to the challenge. Pat creates playfulness within function and space inside structure with each piece.

In 2001, Pat returned to traditional brushwork in the form of scrolls, using papers from Thailand, Japan and China. The combination of brushwork, paper, reed and clay results in an original work of art.