The only information available on the life and career of photographer Patricia Mercer is an article in the Napa Vallery Register, March 3, 1977, written by reporter Darin Ow-Wing:

By DARIN OW-WING. Redwood Junior High - Do you know what hand-colored photography is? Mrs. Patricia Mercer, a new teacher at Redwood Junior High, certainly does. Its the process of hand-painting black and white photos with color and just one of three different methods in photography that Mercer uses. Some of her work, which includes black and white and color photos, has been exhibited in the Bay Area. Although she doesn't like camping or hiking, she enjoys the outdoors and uses photography as kind of an excuse to go outside. She is rather new to the field of photography. Her husband, John D. Mercer, former photography teacher at Vintage High School, has had his work widely exhibited and they have their own gallery in Sonoma [The Creative Eye Gallery].

Mrs. Mercer once taught kids with learning disabilities at Yountville and, now, holds the same job at Redwood. The fourth grade at Phillips Elementary was once taught by her, also. Mercer was born in Modesto, majored in general education at Arizona State, and received a master's degree working with educationally handicapped kids. Being basically anti-big business, she believes that the oil shortage was purposely caused by the oil companies for a want of larger profits and greed. To conserve water, gas, and energy, Mercer believes that rationing of all three should have begun long ago. She is a Trekkie (her favorite character is Spock); she follows the Space Shuttle program closely, and dreams of owning a telescope. Why all this interest in space? It partially stems from her belief that space is the last frontier.

Surprisingly, her interest in reading does not lie in Science Fiction, but in Russian literature ... War & Peace (Leo Tolstoy is one of her favorite authors) took her six months to read. Political-historical novels like Gulag Archipeligo by Solzhenitsyn do not interest her. Another hobby is playing the guitar which she started two years ago and is now writing a musical composition. During high school she liked math and art, was very active in drama, and became a pom-pon in her senior year. Contemporary acid rock and Stevie Wonder dont appeal to her, unlike 60s music, Bread, Bob Dylan, Chicago, Eagles, and the Beatles. Mercer doesn't talk down on life, but expresses her attitude as turned on to life.

It appears that the Mercers separated in 1981, but record of Patricia's surname - before or after her marriage - has yet to be found. If you have more information to contribute to this biography, please contact the Annex at artannex@aol.com or (707) 546-7352.