Thorington is a Kansas State University graduate who lives in Washington, DC. She creates a self-portrait in her lithography studio about every ten years. A careful look at the lithography stone in this print shows her working on this portrait. The images of animals around the room were inspired by her husband’s career as a curator in the mammal division of the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. The 1997 print over her left shoulder is of Mechi, a resident of the National Zoo.