Kathleen began her career with the glass medium in 1978. After purchasing a few materials and tools she began experimenting, making small stained glass windows. The following year she began working in a commercial stained glass studio, where she expanded her knowledge and skills with the medium. In 1987 she and her husband opened their studio, Glassroots, and sold three-dimensional boxes, towers, and vases at art fairs and galleries. In 1991 Kathleen was introduced to a different process of working with glass, using a kiln to form fused glass. She began incorporating it into her stained glass and grew to love the more fluid way of designing her work. She found that fusing offered greater possibilities and fewer limitations. By 2000 she transitioned to producing solely fused glass artwork.