1948 Born in Hartford, Connecticut 1963 Montolanez studied at the Dwight School in Englewood, NJ under Miss Rose Albera - graduate of the Stuttgart Academy. 1963 - 1969 During the summers "Merc" continued her studies at Columbia University in New York 1969 Studied at Bryn Mawr College until moving to Philadelphia where she studied at the University of Pennsylvania and the Academy of Fine Arts under Puttman, Stumpfig and Kamaherra. 1970 - 1978 Took creative hiatus throughout Europe winding up in an apprenticeship in her father’s native Grecian Islands 1978 - 1988 While living and working in Manhattan, Merc established herself as a resident artist of SOHO Currently, the artist maintains studios in both Vermont and Costa Rica