I was born in 1949 in Stadthagen (Lower Saxony), grew up and went to school in Cologne. Here I also started my studies in art history. Later I went to Basle (Switzerland) and Bonn, where I finished my studies with a PhD in 1981. In 1973 I got married to the arthistorian Rüdiger Joppien. After the birth of our two daughters my family moved to Hamburg in 1987.
 

In the 1970ies I started creating patchwork-quilts. At the same time I wrote art-critics for German magazines (Textilforum, Textilkunst). Later I concentrated on recycling materials, for instance I cut plastic bags into streaks, which I then wove into big shopping bags. In the 1990ies I created lifesize animals with papier-mâché over a construction of wire grating.

Since a few years I concentrate on creating jewellery. First knowledge was achieved in a workshop with an old friend of my family, Wilhelm T. Mattar, on Mallorca. But only after discovering the fascination of making glass beads all my interest were finally brought together: three-dimensional work, the free and playful combination of colours and the possibility to create jewellery.