Lori was born in Lethbridge, Alberta and raised in Victoria, B.C. She moved to Vancouver to study Fine Art at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design, and graduated in 1985 with a major in Interdisciplinary and Sculpture. Afterward, she lived and travelled in Europe for 8 months, then made her home in Vancouver, where she has had a successful career in theatre, film and television costuming. In 2008 Lori moved to a rural location in the the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island to devote herself to her art practice .
In the summer of 2000 Lori had the opportunity to attend the Atlin School of Art in the wilderness of northern British Columbia, where the surrounding environment inspired a new perspective and vision. The texture, spirit, energy and the vibrant colors in nature are the essence of her contemporary abstract paintings. The work becomes richer and more complex as her ideas evolve.