Tom was born in 1958 in Cincinnati, OH. He attended classes at the Cincinnati Art Academy & the University of Cincinnati. However, he is a primarily self-taught artist. He is a founding member of the Maintraum Art Group. Towhey was instrumental in developing after school arts programs for the YMCA which included outreach programs for Childrens’s Hospital. He has also served as a voluntary art teacher for St. Rita’s School for the deaf.