Born in the northeast in Norwalk, in the tri-state area, where soon after my family migrated to the sunny island of Aruba where my father is from. Soon after we returned state-side to enjoy the environment of my home state of Connecticut. After some years there we migrated to Miami, where much of my life had settled.

 

There , whilst finishing my primary education, I was just about to enter my 9th grade of school when I was exposed to the (at the time) NEW world of 3d computer design. Thea year was 1997, and I remember walking through the isles of a computer store [COMP-USA] and among the isles of cd-rom games and business applications, on the single wall of Macintosh products there was a humble copy of Ray Dream Designer for the Macintosh. Then Begging my parents I acquired this and went to work teaching myself this primitive and buggy application, in the hopes of making something within the rudimentary program akin to what my adolescent imagination could produce.

 

But much to my dismay , the technology was so behind in what my imagination could come up with, I spent my entire life attempting to learn all I could so that one day, the complicated pencil known as the computer could reflect the near infinite capacity of one's own imagination.

 

I still have yet to be satisfied with this quest.

 

Along my studies, finishing up High-School equivalencies and acquire the much coveted diploma, I attempted to attain a degree at International Fine Arts College.

This was at a time when there was no major for 3d animation and the predatory practices of the for profit education industry were at an all time high.

 

IFAC, became the Art Institute and the Art Institute Became School for Audio Engineering. For me though , no degree, but so much student debt. Along the way, I parted with this University, Citing weekly demands for Payment to 'financial aid' which continuously relayed an ultimatum of “$1,000 a week or no class allowed”. Disheartened with this shakedown I enrolled in Miami-Dade College and accrued all the credits needed to attain a degree halfway.

 

Then the family and I moved to California. With the hopes of finishing my degree I then enrolled in Ex'pressions College for Digital Arts , (which later became an SAE).

 

All throughout the time of my college career, my extracurricular activities of attempting to teach myself every 3D program I could find , as well as using the skills picked up by my countless art classes to reach this unattainable goal of realizing the universe of my imagination in real life met a head.

 

It was in my last 2d Animation class, taught by a mild mannered surfer by the name of Arne Wong, whom worked on Heavy Metal and Dora the Explorer, I realized that there was a giant problem in the Universities that taught animation to students. He was fired. Not for his work, skills, large portfolio or real life experience but because he lacked a degree, and the school couldn't receive accreditation because he was teaching without a Masters.

 

The same thing happened time and time again at Ai. Another animator whom worked on Lilo and Stich was almost fired for the same reason, the catch with him is he elected to apply for a degree while he was teaching, at a costly expense, to keep his job.

 

On top of highly skilled veteran animators being fired and industry professionals leaving in disgust of the conditions given to them, the recruitment of impoverished high-schoolers given high hopes, just to enroll and be crushed by the financial assistance policies that bordered on extortion, I have seen many just give up, the classes shrink, and the passion for the craft wane.

 

But through this adversity I've hunkered down and attempted to channel all of this frustration and grief into any project deemed necessary to help keep my dream, my quest, this mission alive. Not to loose my imagination to the real life diaspora of financial greed and impoverishment but to attempt to render my imagination, on whatever canvas , digital or traditional, in as much depth as what may cannot be as infinite as the human imagination can allow.

 

Today I live in Hollywood California, doing what I can to survive , creating what I can for my imagination to do so as well.

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As noting on what I saw that day in Comp-USA, in regards to our creativity:

 

"While the world outside marches to the tune of a silly mouse one screen,

We behind the curtains , tirelessly sewn the hems of his pants you see,

For in us all , whom create this illusion of reality you see,

Lives and armored mouse, a warrior inside, protecting our creativity..." -

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I am the Artist:

Erin Geerman