Marilyn Benjamin Wassmann was born in a leap year and earned four degrees-two in art history, one in library science, and one in studio art. Before retiring in 2011, Marilyn worked as an art cataloger at the Library of Congress. She has illustrated and contributed to anthologies for the Greenbelt Writers Group. In 2016, she published Pen Scratching Poets: A Collection of One Family's Creative Pursuits with her husband Paul.

Besides drawing and painting, Marilyn writes poetry in her spare time. She lives in Hyattsville, Maryland with her husband Paul, and some fish, one rabbit, one dog, and several cats.