She received a bachelor's degree and a master's in art from the City College of New York.
She was a public school art teacher for nearly 20 years, then joined the faculty of the University of California at San Diego, where she was an art professor until her retirement.
[observation, at 82] I thought it was natural to always have art in my life. Struggle inspires me. I was brought up in an atmosphere of struggle in the '60s, and I tried to pass that inspiration on to my students.