on graduating from saic in 1979, tamblyn moved to new york and pursued her performance work in east village spaces. this was a difficult time in her life as she lacked access to the advanced equipment she needed to produce her work. she taught for a while at the school of visual arts and held some clerical jobs. by the early 1980s, tamblyn had become increasingly involved in curatorial work. she decided to go to graduate school at the university of california, san diego, where she was able to study with kaprow as well as with the conceptual and performance artists eleanor antin and david antin. she received her m.f.a. degree in 1986.