My visual effects career started with an unexpected bang. Circumstances, hunger, unconventional choices, and some talent landed me in the visual effects studio, led by John Dykstra in Van Nuys, Industrial Light and Magic. I became a part of the studio and team that created the groundbreaking FX movie, Star Wars, by George Lucas. The force of the wave that followed continues to this day.
There were few women, if any, doing the job of optical compositor in the film industry in 1977. I may be the first on record. Once that opportunity arrived, I rode that wave to where it took me, breaking new ground along the way and bringing me here, now.
I saw all sorts of ways I would be able to exercise my knowledge and artistry with VFX. I was hired by Rob Blalack shortly after Star Wars at MPI and then at Praxis. In my career, I got to work as a compositor, animator, matte painter, illustrator, animation and motion control cameraman, 3D texture artist, VFX lead, and supervisor for multiple studios. A sampling of productions I have worked on encompasses science-related projects for Public Education, Artist Projects, Commercials, Blockbusters, and Award-Winning Films and TV series, such as Terminator 2, Independence Day, Total Recall, Harry Potter, Spiderman, The Cosmos Series, Planet Earth, and many others. I even got to work on Large Format and 3D stereo projects: Call from Space (Showscan), T-Rex 3D: Back to the Cretaceous (IMAX), and Jaws 3D.
When the digital revolution swept through Hollywood, I rode another impactful wave as one of the first artists to use the cutting-edge hardware and software, Flame. That was a game-changer. The project was Super Mario Bros., the film.
In 2006, I co-founded OmniCosm Studios with Adolf Schaller to combine our talents in the production of the finest visuals of the cosmos and to create powerful, unforgettable, educational, and entertaining experiences. We have produced projects for NASA, Griffith Observatory, and Astronomy Magazine.
I look for ways to give back and have brought my expertise to the classroom, where I have lectured and taught courses in multi-media and visual effects at UCLA, Pasadena Art Center College of Design, University of Denver, and Chaffey College. There have been publications and lectures I have given on copyright with regard to the digital age and exhibitions of my artwork nationally. UCLA awarded me a BA, and from the California Institute of the Arts, a Master of Arts.
Media convergence, art installations, VR, photography, 3D, AI, sketching, and developing ideas all hold a fascination for me, which compels me to continue to develop projects.
