ABOUT

LIBRARY SCHEDULE/TOPICS

LIBRARY PROGRAM EXTRAS

CLEOPATRA

RUTH BADER GINSBURG

RUSTIN

LANGSTON HUGHES

NOBEL WOMEN

M. SHELLEY

TUBMAN & TRUTH

SENECA FALLS LEGACY

JILL TARTER & SETI

AFRICAN-AMERICANS/SPACE

FAILURE

UNSUNG HEROES CIVIL RIGHT

DINOSAURS AMONG US

THE HOLIDAYS UNWRAPPED

SANTA CLAUS

COURAGE TO BE FRIDA

TESLA: LIGHTNING MAN

BANNED IN AMERICA

THE SALEM WITCHES

MARY ANNING

NELLIE BLY

TONI MORRISON

SEX IN THE STONE AGE

OH, THE PLACES WE'VE BEEN

EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS

VAN GOGH

WOMEN OF THE STARS

THE REAL THANKSGIVING

THE YEAR 1969

HEDY LAMARR

EARTHQUAKES VOLCANOES

THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

MARTIN LUTHER KING

EXECUTIVE ORDER 9981

JUDY: OVER THE RAINBOW

ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY

COLLAGES

PHOTOGRAPHY

BLACK AND WHITE

WATERSCAPES

ADIRONDACKS

THE LEAP PROJECT

WRITING

AMNH MUSEUM

MUSEUM TOUR SCHEDULE

WINDOWS TO NATURE

VERTEBRATE ORIGINS

A WORLD OF DINOSAURS

T.REX & ITS FAMILY

EARLY MAMMALS

HUMAN ORIGINS

OUR UNIVERSE

OCEAN LIFE: WHALES

AMNH: SOLAR SYSTEM

SUN

MERCURY

VENUS

EARTH & MOON

MARS & MOONS

ASTEROID BELT

JUPITER & MOONS

SATURN & MOONS

URANUS & MOONS

NEPTUNE & MOONS

NEPTUNE amplified

KUIPER BELT

OORT CLOUD

PLANET NINE

RESUME

Bill Thierfelder

 
 



You've got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down.  
 
                                                   RAY BRADBURY
 
 

(c) Craig Chesek
 

My name is Dr. Bill Thierfelder.  I hold a Ph.D. in English with minors in theater and music history.  Over a 32-year period, I taught a variety of Arts and Humanities courses at several New York and Long Island universities and colleges.  My classroom vocation showed me quite clearly that life is all about “making wings”--hence, the name of my website: makingwings.net.  Indeed, my personal philosophy--rooted in years of practical study and just plain old life experience--is simple:  The most important thing you can do is to make wings for yourself and fly to places that fulfill your potential, allow you to develop your unique gifts, and open up a world of love and friendship.

 
Some things about myself:

After living exclusively in the New York metropolitan area since birth, I currently reside in Portland, Oregon, with my spouse.  

I retired from full-time teaching in 2010.  Now, I devote my energies to being an artist/photographer, writer, lecturer, and museum docent.

As an artist/photographer, I have a commitment to the art and craft of collage, employing various media, including crayon, pencil, graphite, inks, digital photos, and oil pastels. My work has been shown at galleries in Manhattan and on Long Island since 2007. 

As a writer, I publish under the name T. Richard Williams. My poetry and short stories have been published in such diverse venues as Wild Violet, Aphelion, Shadeworks, Petroglyph, American Poets and Poetry, and Lucid Stone. Three collections of verse--How the Dinosaurs Devoured the Humans, The Letter S, and Hurricane Warnings--and two volumes of short stories titled Ten and The Book of Clues are currently available as is my sci-fi novel Twelve Minutes...  By going to the WRITING page on this website, you can click on links that will take you directly to each book at Amazon.com
 
Besides traditional classroom teaching, I also give library lectures and guide people through museums.  (My library and museum schedules are available on the is website.) One of the great joys of my life has been sharing and exchanging ideas with people--so whether it's in a classroom setting, a library auditorium, or a museum hall, conversing with others about exciting works of art, literature, music, history, or science is an activity that truly gives me "wings."

I'm also a member of and donor to The Jesup Legacy Circle at The American Museum of Natural History. In addition, I always try to support a wide range of charitable organizations either financially or as a volunteer, especially those devoted to preserving Earth's environment, to protecting at-risk children around the world, and to advocating for civil equality.



"Never be too old to play on swings in May, nor too 'adult' for sand castles built by the roaring shore; always romp with joy in the brisk autumn leaves and know the wonder of snow angels on a bright winter's day."
 
 
T. Richard Williams




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CONTACT:  MakingWings@gmail.com