Katie Sleyman grew up in an old house in Manassas, Virginia. Seeing her parents constantly undertake projects around that house, like reupholstering furniture and hand carving trim for the kitchen counter, impressed upon her the importance of working hard and caring for objects. Her studies have taken her to Fredericksburg, Virginia, for a BA in Studio Art from the University of Mary Washington; Fayetteville, Arkansas, for a post-baccalaureate program in ceramics; and finally, Athens, Ohio, where she earned her Master of Fine Arts in ceramics from Ohio University.