Tom Anderson was born in 1951 in Salt Lake City, Utah, the son of a Jazz musician.
He attended Clark College in Vancouver, WA, and received an Associate of Arts degree in 1971.
In the autumn of 1971, he enrolled at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. There he studied Asian Art and Philosophy with Jose Arguelles; developed the 16mm Animation facilities; helped to establish the FM radio station KAOS; co-created the four-story library mural; and worked as an assistant graphic designer, developing the College's catalogs and visual identities. He graduated in 1973 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
In 1973, he co-founded Mansion Glass Studios in Olympia, WA. This collaboration won recognition locally and nationally for their design and fabrication of Architectural Art Glass commissions.
Anderson first attended the Pilchuck Glass School in 1986, as a teaching assistant to Henry Halem. He was back at the Pilchuck School in 1987, on a scholarship with Susan Stinsmuhlen-Amend, and again in 1988 and 1989 as a teaching assistant in the advanced graduate program, specializing in glass casting and enamel kiln firing.
In 1990, Anderson established his own studio in Olympia, WA. There he pursued his expanding interest in painting, metal fabrication, mixed media construction and printmaking.
Represented by galleries in Oregon,Washington,California and Hawaii he exhibits regularly and his work can be found in over 1600 public and private collections.