Erickson moved frequently in her early life, living with her family in New Castle, Delaware, from 1977 to 1978, in Mantua, Ohio, from 1978 to 1979, in Lindenwold, New Jersey, from 1979 to 1980, in Runnemede, New Jersey, from 1980 to 1981 (where she attended Bingham Elementary School), in Laurel Springs, New Jersey, from 1981 to 1994 (where she attended Laurel Springs Elementary, Samuel S. Yellin Junior High in Stratford, and half of her first year at Sterling High School in Somerdale), and in Sylvania, Ohio, from 1994 to 1996 (where she attended Sylvania Southview High School and was a member of the Cougarettes varsity precision dance team).
At UArts she worked closely with artists/professors James D. Makins, Lizbeth Stewert, Alec Karros, Jeanne Jaffe, Sharon Church, Susie Brandt, Roy Superior and Rod McCormick.
In September 2002 Erickson began her MFA in Ceramics at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, under Resident Artist, Tony Hepburn.
Erickson spent the summer after graduation from Cranbrook as a resident artist at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana.
Upon her return from Finland, Erickson continued her work as a resident artist at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for three years.