I was always surrounded by the nature growing up in Minnesota. I assisted my father in his stained glass studio, where I also began to make jewelry from scrap glass. Following a BFA program in metals and jewelry at SCAD I was employed as a silversmithing instructor, a bench jeweler, and studio goldsmith, while also building my own studio practice. I also earned a graduate degree in art therapy from SAIC where I researched and wrote about the therapeutic benefits of metalsmithing.