Trudi is originally from Texas and studied art at the University of Texas in Austin. In 1992, she drove cross-country to Hood River on a windsurfing excursion and immediately fell in love with Oregon, deciding to stay. She found the perfect spot to call home and create a life for herself in Odell, on a small farm she purchased that already had an existing ceramic shop. There, she began creating her art pottery at Mystic Mud Studio. In 2002, when she learned that 150 acres of adjacent farmland to her was proposed to be re-zoned for other uses Trudi’s passion began for advocating for Oregon’s land use laws, designating and protecting farm and forest lands.