She attended Minneapolis College of Art and Design at age 16, later transferring to the College of Visual Arts. She lived in the south of France, studying painting and art history through a program sponsored by Bard College in New York. In 1999, she was awarded a BFA with an emphasis in drawing. She continued to graduate school where she earned her Masters in Art Education degree in 2006. Recently, she earned a graduate certificate in Housing Studies from the College of Design at the University of Minnesota.