= Star Wars Changed My Life =

I was 7 years old when Star Wars changed my life. It revealed an exciting sci-fantasy world to believe in. While imagining space ships and dragons I found myself dreaming of being an actor so that I too could one day be a Luke Skywalker. My mother insisted I would not thrive in fierce Hollywood. Growing up I still acted up as the class clown while always finessing my natural artistic skills and appreciation for science and technology.

At Expo 86 in Vancouver I was again inspired by a computer animation promo of new technology in the California pavilion. This prompted me to pursue computer animation, which seemed to be the perfect fusion of art, technology, animation, style, music and motion. To my delight Sheridan College, the only school in North America to feature computer animation was only 4 hours away in Ontario. I arranged a meeting with Wayne Gilbert, the head of the classical animation program, to see how I might improve my portfolio, but he immediately accepted me before I had even finished high school.

All my life I wanted to live in the future. In 1995 I realized I was. A new millennium was around the corner and everything was possible. Cell phones and Palm Pilots are communicators and tricorders while shiny Barbarella fashions are hip, though partly retro nostalgia and partly futurism. Computers not only make life simpler and more complex but with them photo-real dinosaurs, tornadoes and spaceships are common in entertainment where anything imaginable is possible, given enough time, money and talent.

In 2009 my odyssey continues with 'a new hope' as I look forward to wonderful work and new adventures in this vibrant, conscious and beautiful city.

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