Mary-Elizabeth enjoyed a following as an oil painter until her disability left her unable to paint in 2004. Still having a story to tell and unable to tell it through her paints, she began to create word images to convey the subject matter. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her best friend and life partner, Francisco. They enjoy boating and camping in the California woodlands and beyond. Together with their dogs, the couple travels the states looking for interesting new places and talking to the people who live there.