Born in Wausau, Wisconsin, I attended the Universities of Wisconsin-Madison and Illinois-Champaign/Urbana for degrees in music education and performance, and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill for a further degree in librarianship.

But, after many years spent working first as a symphony musician and then as a public librarian, I was led to discover the sculptor within. Taking drawing classes started me on a new path. Apparently, I was meant to be an artist all along.

After moving to Indianapolis, I have focused on learning from observation and hands-on experience to supplement the seeing that has always been an important element of my life. Remembered forms are always turning up. I have also delved into my cultural roots to find a rich ancestry of wood carving, and my own experience as a musician has informed rhythm and gestures in my work. Most recently, I have come to an appreciation of my role as a conduit for messages received, and of my sculpture as the presenter of messages to others.

In the artist's words, “I was born in 1928 and came home from the hospital in a laundry basket during a blizzard. It accounts for a lot.”

Since that stormy arrival, Lois Main Templeton has left an imprint on all those who come in contact with her, both as an artist and a teacher. Her teaching has ranged from sponsorships by the Indiana Arts Commission, elementary schools to college, community centers and correctional facilities.

Since graduating from the Herron School of Art in 1981, her paintings have gained widespread attention in numerous invitational exhibitions and in fourteen solo shows in California, Idaho, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Kentucky. Her work is in the collections of the Indiana State Museum, the Richmond Art Museum, the Midwest Museum of American Art, and has been exhibited recently on two occasions by the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington.

Recognized as one of the top Indiana women artists, Templeton maintains a studio at historic Fountain Square in Indianapolis and shows regularly with Editions Limited Gallery in Indianapolis.