She worked at an after-hours club and as a taxi driver while attending graduate school at Hunter College.
[4] Initially Mitchnick's plan was to be a performative artist involving modern dance and writing her own music, only using paint to create her backdrops.
"[3] A group show in 1980 at the Detroit Institute of Arts called "Kick Out the Jams" gave Michnick national attention with a write-up in Artforum.
Critic and curator Ruth Rattner wrote of the emerging "Detroit style" coming from this group show: "an energetic handling of materials that emphasizes their physical qualities.
Her second solo show with the gallery in 1986 garnered her a review by New York Times art critic Vivien Raynor.