I developed my passion for the arts as a child growing up in upstate New York.  My formal education in Fine Arts began at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Art Institute in Utica, New York. I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York.  After graduation, I pursued post-baccalaureate studies at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York and then spent one year working in Las Vegas, Nevada developing my work at Tom Coleman's Studio and Gallery. I completed my Master of Fine Arts Degree in Ceramics at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, Illinois and in recent years I have participated in national and international ceramic artist-in-residency programs. Currently, I am an assistant professor of art at the University of Central Oklahoma where I teach courses in hand-built and wheel-thrown ceramic art.  I continue to exhibit my work throughout the United States and abroad.