Vander Meer completed her MFA in sculpture from Mills College. Her talents, however, also extend into the realms of painting, printmaking, mixed media, installation, and performance art. She has exhibited and in collections in New York, California, Germany, Seattle, Chicago, Spain, Santa Fe, Atlanta, Ireland, Japan, and London. She is recipient of a number of prestigious awards including artist-in-residency awards at the Foundation Valpariso in Spain, Millay Colony in Upstate New York,, Villa Montalvo in Santa Clara, California and Cill Rialaig in Ireland.