Born in rural North Carolina in 1974, artist Corn Wagon Thunder credits her Southern upbringing as influential to her approach to art making. As is so often the case, she had to leave her home before she could see its influence. At age eighteen, Corn high-tailed it to Boston, Massachusetts, where she picked up a little bit of Yankee sass and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in conjunction with Tufts University. After enduring a few too many New England winters, Corn returned to her North Carolina home with her tail tucked. It was this return that fueled her investigation into what it means to be from the South. During this time, Corn studied at Penland School of Craft in North Carolina—also known as Shangri-La. Doors opened for Corn during this time, and she decided to walk through one, which led her to the Southwest in pursuit of a Master of Fine Arts at the University of New Mexico.