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I was born in Coos Bay, Oregon in 1981.
The thing I remember most about the west is the beautiful
landscape and huge trees. I only
lived there for 6 years when my family decided to move to the
east coast (New York) where I have spent the majority of my life. Both of
my parents were born in Canada and moved to the United States
in their mid twenties. I am the middle child of five siblings.
I currently live in Buffalo, New York.
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I drew a lot as a child and even
perfected a signature at a young age to sign all of my pieces
with. I remember my father giving me a wonderful sleek, black, hard
covered book filled with blank white pages. I was determined
to only fill it up with the best drawings. My grandmother and
sister are also artists so art definitely runs in this family.
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2002, Painting Accordion Man |
People and their emotions seem to be a common theme in my art.
I love to capture a face and the way they may be feeling. A
face can tell so much and just the right eyebrow curve or hand
placement can change everything about the emotion of the
piece. A face and surroundings can reveal many things and I
like the fact that people interpret my art with different
meanings.
I have come to learn that art is a very tough business though. As an
artist, it is very hard to sell your art if you are not
established. I have had my art displayed in three galleries
and have won several art contests but find it is very
difficult to turn this passion into a career.
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My passion for video came second. I was fortunate enough that
my mother rented a VHS video camera from Block-Buster in the
mid-eighties one day when I was bored. Today, digital toys are everywhere but
in the eighties, you were lucky to have one in the home for
entertainment, especially if you happen to be a 9 year old
girl. I grew up watching Hollywood movies and mimicked that
style even as a young child.
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When I was 17 I was introduced to
Pegasus, a public access
television studio in Ithaca, New York. I was fascinated by the
fact that the public was able to to take out equipment, edit
their videos and air their final product for free. My skill
level in video production had went from beginner to
intermediate. I also got very familiar with the studio and
linear editing suite. I remember people around town would recognize me for the
videos I did and it was a great feeling that others could see
my work.
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2000, The Lake Street News |
Around this time, my high school in Ithaca offered a
Media/English course which let students use the schools
digital equipment to make videos. We also could air our work on the
Lake Street
News (our schools television station) as well. I was introduced to non-linear editing here
as opposed to Pegasus which used liner, destructive editing. Most of my videos for this class consisted of events
around town and documentaries. I was a bit more restricted as
to what kind of shows I could produce but it was very
useful experience because you had follow a format. |
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My genre in video has gone through different stages. I started
off doing comedy pieces then switched to Sci/Fi and mystery. I
create very dramatic pieces now. One major difference between
video production and painting is the amount of time
required to make a video as opposed to painting a canvas. Video
requires more than one person and you have to work together as
a team. If the crew doesn't get along it shows in the final
product so it is extremely important that the crew can work
well together. I can complete a painting in a week, while
a video can take months to put together but it is well worth it.
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2004, Bound by Fate |
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As a child, I would make my own magazines using tap and glue
so design has always been of interest to me. I really got into
Graphic and Web design in my first year of college at
Plattsburgh State University. Even though I went to school for
video production, I also came out of it as a Designer. The
digital revolution took video production and graphic design to
a whole new level of control and manipulation. Plus, it became
affordable. During college, instead of buying a car I chose to
buy a Canon GL-1, 3 chip digital camera and shotgun
microphone.
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I was interested in web design because the internet was very
accessible and cost efficient. People wanting to display a
message or wanting to advertising their services could now do
so through the internet. I enjoy
helping people showcase their work or whatever it is they want to communicate through the web. Like painting, graphic
and web design didn't require a whole team of people to
make the final product. I enjoy learning new skills to
make my web and graphic design that much better. It also
involves keeping up-to-date on the programs I use
everyday. |
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I attended Plattsburgh State University from 2000 to 2003 and
then transferred to the University at Buffalo where I finished my
Bachelors of Arts degree. I graduated with Honors (Magna Cum
Laude) and received
an award from the Media Study department at UB for my academic and
creative achievements.
Both colleges had two different
approaches. PSU was more team/group oriented while UB was more
individual oriented. PSU focused on the studio while UB let
you explore and make videos out of the studio environment.
Each University was different but both contribute to what I
know today and in turn, made me a better artist.
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2004, UB Graduation |
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Whether it is a white canvas, the viewfinder, or computer
screen, I enjoy every medium I use and will continue to
develop
my skills. I hope that someday I can have a successful media
business. Presently, I am a freelance Graphic/Web Designer.
If you are interested in any of my services or would like to
give some feedback, please feel free to
contact me. |
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