Carol (C.J.) Carey was born in Key West, Florida and raised primarily in Texas.  She attended the University of Oklahoma where she received her B.A. degree in History. She studied law at the University of Tulsa, earning her J.D. degree in 2002.  She is currently a first grade teacher as well as a license attorney in Oklahoma. Art has always been a factor in her life as several of her siblings are artists.  When she was a teenager, her dream was to be a fashion designer so she spent hours drawing clothing designs.

Ms. Carey is self-taught and began working in decoupage before picking up a book on mixed-media. She started experimenting with various mediums until she developed a style that is uniquely her own. Her work is usually a reflection of the Steampunk phenomena and incorporates those ideas into interesting settings. She uses modeling paste for texture as well as paper, acrylic paint, ink, and stains. She always finishes her work with a layer of mica dry pigment so that the work seems to glow under light. She is currently working on a "MacBeth" piece for a Sacramento Fine Arts Center exhibition.

She has exhibited at the Sacramento Arts Festival, the Petaluma Art Center, and High Hand Gallery in Loomis, CA.  She will be back at the Sacramento Arts Festival in October 2020.