Northern Vermont University: Featured Artist

This week I shared my work and career path to the students at Vermont State University as a featured artist in an online presentation. Many thanks to Kate Renner, who reached out to me for the opportunity, and Barclay Tucker, for hosting me!

I must admit, I was fairly nervous— mostly because for the first time I decided to connect my work as a student to the types of work I do now, and where and how exploration of mediums and types of film-making has influenced me over time.

I also found, that I was surprised at how many films I have made, getting back into the muck of my early work. These pieces at one point embarrassed me, certainly— but I think that is in the mistakes that I made and in the not knowing—BUT that I can also identify how the process of film-making, each time, has helped me to grow as an artist was the driving point behind what I wanted to share with them.

I compared my processes on personal work versus the commercial one’s, and tried to provide some insight into the difference between making the two works. I wanted the students to get an understanding that their current work— the pieces they make, can come from a place of their viewpoint— and not filling a commerical need or matching a predetermined style.

Process is important— but one of the easiest things, for me, about commercial work is that it is “plug and play”. Making films that have depth and meaning is gut-wrenchingly hard, and decisions can take a lot more time to make, because the goal isn’t just what the film ENDS UP being— but instead the process makes it what it is.

I feel that every time I make a film, I re-learn this over again, because the process and the need of the film are always different, even slightly. And I am different than I was before making the piece— through the process of it you live you life, life changes you, and you need to adapt the work to what is best for it (and sometimes your timeline too, unfortunately!)

A few days afterward Barclay shared that one student after the presentation had said, “I saw where I can be one day.”— I appreciate that I was able to be relatable to the students, and hope they can move forward in their careers and future lives successfully.