[1][5][4] From 1926 until 1929, De Patta received a scholarship to attend the Art Students League of New York, where she encountered the work of the European avant-garde.

[8][9] She was known for her innovative use of visual effects in her jewelry, such as light refraction, image reflection, and magnification, which she achieved through the design of her stones.

[13] She struggled alongside Bielawski after they set up a Napa-based studio, to start a reasonably priced mass-produced jewelry line for the public.

[16] De Patta taught art classes at the California Labor School, and silversmithing, forging and lost-wax casting at the College of Marin.

[13][1] In 1999, her abstract photography work was included in a group exhibition, The Photogram 1918–1948, at Ubu Gallery, New York City.