I didn’t know I always wanted to be an artist. From the time I was eight, I was dead set on being a writer. But, I took an art class in college and the teacher suggested I become an art major. So that's what I did. Yes, I was that easily influenced. 

I went to grad school at Rhode Island School of Design and got my MFA in printing and painting (though I never made a print or a painting). Then, I spent the next 7 years teaching: RISD, Wheeler School of Art in Providence, University of Delaware, Albright College. Teaching was good, but I wanted to be in NYC full-time and learn more about set design. So, I became an art coordinator for television commercials and moved into a tiny roach-infested (but more importantly, rent stabilized) apartment in the city.  After 10 years, I met my banjo, harmonica, guitar, vocalist, super-talented husband and we moved to Brooklyn and had kids. After 8 years in Brooklyn, we moved to Chicago, where we now live.