Important influences in Russell’s work include found photographs, maps, 16th century cabinets of curiosity, worn and dilapidated objects, obsessive behavior in collecting, repetition, and storytelling. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor of Art at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. Russell received her MFA in photography from the University of Arizona and her BFA from Boise State University. Her mixed media installations and photographs have been exhibited nationally and her work is represented in the collections of the Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and Reed College, Portland, Oregon.