I have been a fan of stop-motion animation for as long as I can remember. The magical quality of inanimate objects coming to life—sometimes smoothly, sometimes with an endearing imperfection—continues to fascinate me. I have always been amazed at just how much time, work, and dedication goes into stop-motion animation; it has to be one of the slowest animation mediums, but also has the potential for huge, satisfying payoffs.

I believe my earliest encounter with it was the intermittent Claymation bits on Sesame Street (most of these created by Claymation pioneer/legend Will Vinton), such as the catchy tune “Lucille” which featured a shape-changing orange ball with bright red lips.