I Tell Stories
with
Moving Pictures!
For me, motion pictures are a glorious bit of patchwork —stitched together with bits of whimsy, oddities, and the occasional dash of delightful nonsense. My work spans animated films and documentaries, narrative and experimental films, commercials, tv shows, and art installations, all exploring themes with traditional techniques mixed with an adventurous spirit of experimentation. My latest project, The Ready Set Go Picture Show, is a children’s TV show all about art, play, imagination, and creativity—a vibrant, interactive experience encouraging kids to see the world as a canvas for curiosity and discovery.
The Ready Set Go Picture Show, is a patchwork variety show in the spirit of 1970’s children’s television with animated segments, flash fiction shorts, absurdist sketches and a scattering of short documentary segments about artists, poets, creatives and all the other magical folk who make the world a better place to live. The Ready Set Go Picture Show is for adults and children alike and focuses on the fundamentals of play, absurdity, and fun, through an artistic lens. "Don't Push That Button" is the pilot episode of the yet-to-be-produced series. The episode features an absurd race with a cast of misfits and an irascible coach, a talk show host and his "Three Questions", a short documentary segment about a professional magician, a simple lesson in drawing faces from shapes in "A Drawing for You", a short documentary segment about a jack-of-all-trades artist, and a slew of hand made cartoon shorts. The Ready Set Go Picture Show is a fast paced, funky and off beat look at the world of play, creativity and imagination. This project was partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council through federal funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts @NEAarts
Trailers!
From a few of my animated and experimental short films that have played in film festivals around the country and even won a few awards!
ROTOSCOPING!
Rotoscoping is a technique in hand-drawn animation where animators trace over live-action footage frame by frame to create realistic movement. Developed in the early 20th century, rotoscoping initially involved projecting filmed scenes onto a drawing board using a device called a rotoscope, allowing animators to capture accurate proportions, gestures, and expressions. This technique can be used to create fluid, life-like animations or to add surreal, stylized touches by exaggerating or transforming certain elements. While the process has become digital in recent years, with software replacing the traditional rotoscope, the underlying principle remains: blending the naturalism of live action with the creative flexibility of drawn animation. Below, you can see some of the fun work I’ve done over the years incorporating this technique.