In 2008, I left a career in architecture so that I could return to making art full-time. In the 1970s I had studied fine arts and received a Master of Fine Arts in Painting at the University of Notre Dame. While I was actively exhibiting work during that time, I was unable to find supportive employment in the field and looked for another way to survive in an art-related occupation. I turned toward a career in architecture and received a Master's in Architecture from the University of Illinois. For the next twenty-five years, I worked as a Preservation Architect.