Sarah Wagner was born in Baltimore, Maryland and at the age of 3 months followed her family to the Philippines, Indonesia, Yemen, Italy, Egypt and India, all before she was six. Sarah first learned how to sew from her mother, who made all of her clothes as well as many household furnishings.

In 1997, Sarah began working at the Cranbrook Science Museum outside of Detroit, Michigan and developed a deep love for attentively rendered natural dioramas, particularly those made in the nineteen twenties. Upon moving to California, she was hired in the plant department of Academy Studios, a natural science exhibit design-build firm. Working in these environments has deeply influenced her love of nature, as one has to study plants closely to understand how they are structured. Her current projects stem from this love of nature and artifice. Sarah recently attended Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture 2005 after she graduated with an MFA in Textiles at the California College of the Arts. Sarah lives and works in Oakland, California.