I’m from International Falls, Minnesota. I grew up with a lot of trauma, and it led me to the only thing I could do quietly: draw. I started with cartoons as a small child, then at school I’d draw other kids when they weren’t looking. I used to draw and paint on my bedroom wall.

Eventually I met my now ex-husband, Tony Rosen. We went to college in Monessen, Pennsylvania, where I studied special effects makeup, airbrushing, body art, and cosmetology. After that, we decided to move to Wilmington, North Carolina, where I marketed our work while I did hair in salons. We eventually got into some indie films and Halloween makeup by word of mouth, which led to Tony getting recognized enough to work with James Wan, the director of The Conjuring, who had Tony design Annabelle.

By then I had my second child and worked with Tony to do all the prep work while he worked another full-time job. Then along came Annabelle, who was made in Los Angeles, so everything had to be shipped out. I had my third child and took on even more side jobs, like sculpting award trophies for film festivals, on top of renovating our home, raising our kids, and doing the daily work needed to keep a home together.

Eventually my postpartum depression got the best of me, and I needed to come home to Minnesota. I took my youngest and what could fit in my van. I was put in an uncomfortable position and ended up staying in a homeless shelter until I met my youngest’s dad. I moved to see if it would work out. When it didn’t, I moved back home. I made a lot of mistakes, searching for happiness outside of myself.

I worked a variety of jobs—Menards, construction, school—until I got a manufacturing job doing wet paint, then moved on to powder coating for four and a half years. Eventually I had to take on two jobs to pay for everything on my own while going through a traumatic relationship. I asked the universe for help, and I was led to go to Nicaragua for a missions trip.

When I got back, within a month I quit both jobs and used my tax return and 401(k) to live off for a year. During that time, I studied psychology so I could learn about my mental health, become more emotionally intelligent, and understand my own feelings, since I was so used to numbing them.

That’s when I started drawing in charcoal again, until I found a baby deer skull and painted a wasp on it. I was fascinated by how it developed. Then I started getting interested in how other skulls would be created, and I had two others donated to me. The following year I worked unconventionally, when I had the energy—doing hair and working with an electrician part-time—until I was ready to move.

Eventually, I decided it was best for me and my two kids to move to a more open-minded place two hours south, where I felt free enough to be myself without judgment.