She returned to Illinois to obtain a MFA in photography under Jerry Savage and Barbara Degenevieve, and thereafter found representation by the Phyllis Needleman Gallery in Chicago where she exhibited a series of hand painted photographic self-portraits exploring fairy tale mythology.
She returned to California on a graduate fellowship to obtain a second MFA from the UCLA Film School and representation by the Marilyn Pink Gallery in Los Angeles.
In 1996, she established her own label, Lost Continents, creating fine and functional art and interiors for clients in the entertainment industry as well as for select stores throughout Los Angeles.
In the same year, she was a participating artist in "Department Store: A Collaboration with J. Morgan Puett", the inaugural exhibit of the Sullivan Center at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
She has lent her voice to advancing verbal and visual literacy as a performer through SAG Foundation in Los Angeles, and for the Deaf Media Arts Council in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Education.