Mary Frances earned a BA in anthropology from the University of Iowa, a MA in environmental studies from the University of Illinois Springfield, and completed four years of doctoral work in natural resources and environmental sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is a college instructor in environmental science, an independent historian, and art business owner. Frances has been displaying her found art assemblages in group exhibits throughout the Midwest. Galleries which have shown her work include Woman Made Gallery in Chicago and Art St. Louis in St. Louis.