Erica Hitzman was born in Ukiah California in 1993 and grew up in Pendleton Oregon. She moved to La Grande Oregon in 2011 to study at Eastern Oregon University. After her first year, Erica attended the Hochschule der Medien in Stuttgart Germany where she studied Media and Fine Arts for two years. She then returned to La Grande to complete her undergraduate studies where she graduated from Eastern Oregon University in 2016 with a BA in Art. Erica will complete her MFA in painting in the spring of 2022. Her work explores themes of pain, strength, intimacy, and kinship. She has exhibited work in The Nightingale Gallery in La Grande Oregon as well as The Blackfish Gallery in Portland Oregon.