Born in Rottweil, Germany, of Latvian parents, she came from the refugee camps of postwar Germany to the US as a child. There is a memory of her drawing at age 4 and being frustrated at not being able to figure out perspective. She painted her first oil-on-canvas painting at 13, studied sculpture at the Art Institute while in high school, and became a studio art major at the University of Minnesota. She raised a family and continued to study and paint. The immigrant community she grew up in was rich in expatriate creative artists with concerts, art exhibits and theater; and, Minnesota provided the opportunity to study with numerous outstanding local artists. There has also been the chance to travel producing paintings of Greece, Latvia, Estonia and Costa Rica, as well as many scenes from Minnesota. Today she works from her home studio in Saint Paul or her cabin on Cross Lake or Plein Air painting and photographing Minnesota.