I have been interested in art most of my life, but did not consider becoming a professional artist until my senior year in high school when my art teacher suggested I think about majoring in art. I began to study it formally mid-way through my freshman year at Millikin University after leaving the biology program. I still find biology an important element in my paintings. I graduated from Millikin in 1999 with a Bachelor of Fine Art. I continued studying painting at the University of South Dakota and earned my Master's Degree in 2002. This is also where I met my now-husband Ioan. After moving back to Illinois, we found ourselves in Shelbyville where we live with our daughter and have a large painting studio.