I was born in northern Wisconsin. My mother was a newspaper photographer, and my father a self-taught sculptor and mosaicist. I drew and painted as a child, and later studied as a graphic designer. I worked both for advertising agencies and freelance, having designed CD and book covers.

In 2006 I attempted my first mosaic, as a way to work with my aging father. Several years later I finished the incomplete mosaic, and in 2012 I began creating mosaics in earnest.