As mentioned above Marla grew up in a small northcentral town. On a farm just out side of Jewell, KS is where she found the things that inspired her as a young child and still today. As a young child she was found outside a large amount of the time exploring and enjoying nature. This seems to have impacted her work in more ways than one. The forms found in her work seem to stem from the beauty of nature she was exposed to at an early age. She also sometimes uses ornate and complicated yet eligant slip decoration to imitate that which is often found in living organisms. She still loves the outdoors today and has recently married a farm boy from Downs, KS.
Throughout her education she has taken many other courses that might help her become a more rounded artist. Courses such as drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, graphics, basic design, and figure drawing have given her the freedom to more fully express her concepts and ideas. During her college career at Fort Hays State University she has taken many trips to expand her knowledge of ceramics. Most recently she traveled to Portland, OR to the National Council on Education of the Ceramic Arts in the spring of 2006. During her stay Marla was inspired most by a show that exhibited dinnerware sets of famous artists. Beyond giving her seemingly endless ideas and concepts to use on her own work it showed her how to present and entigrate each piece with the other. In the spring of 2007 she will graduate from Fort Hays State University and hopes to begin teaching art kindergarden through 12th grades. Marla also plans on owning her own studio and hopes to sell her work to the public.