b. 1979 Providence, RI
EDUCATION
2005 MFA University of Pennsylvania School of Design
2000 BFA Massachusetts College of Art and Design (Graduation with Distinction)
1995 Art Institute of Boston
GROUP EXHIBITIONS & SCREENINGS
2013 Annecy International Animation Festival- Annecy, France
2013 Melbourne International Animation Festival- Melbourne, Australia
2012 Philadelphia Film & Animation Festival- Philadelphia, PA
2012 Animation Block Party At BAM Cinematek- Brooklyn, NY
2012 Parer Place Project at the Creative Industries Precinct
Queensland University of Technology "Glomation"-Brisbane, Australia
2011 Philadelphia Film & Animation Festival 2011- Philadelphia, PA
2011 Animation Block Party at BAM Cinematek- Brooklyn, NY
2011 Northside Festival:Animation Block Party presents Short Films- Brooklyn, NY
2010 Dixon Place "7 Body Language Mistakes" by Kira Blazek
(Animation screening before performance)-New York, NY
2010 Animation Block Party at BAM Cinematek- Brooklyn, NY
2010 Rooftop Films Summer Series- Brooklyn, NY
2009 AnnMarie Garden & Sculpture Park "Wild Things"-Dowell, MD
2008 Vox Populi "Action.Stop.Action" (Juried by Joshua Mosley)-Philadelphia, PA
Louis K. Meisel Gallery "Penn Alumni Show"-New York, NY
2007 Jersey City Museum Screening (Curated by Delmira Valladares)-Jersey City, NJ
Prince Music Theater "Philadelphia Film Festival" (Animations in the film
"the Curse of William Penn") -Philadelphia, PA
2006 Vox Populi "Proof" (Curated by Colette Copeland)- Philadelphia, PA
2005 SPEMA Conference Video Festival - Fairfax, VA
Ice Box Gallery "Penn MFA Thesis Show"-Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia Convention Center- Philadelphia, PA
2004 Fox Gallery "Fox Family Show" at University of Pennsylvania -Philadelphia, PA
AWARDS/HONORS
2012 NYFA Artist Fellowship Award in Film/Video- Gregory Millard Fellow
2011 Audience Award- Animation Block Party
2010 Finalist-Aniboom Sesame Street Contest
2007 Fellowship Recipient- Urban Artist Initiative/New York City
2006 Finalist -Winnipeg Mural Festival
2005 Audrey Robinson Award -University of Pennsylvania
2004 Stuart Egnal Scholarship Award -University of Pennsylvania
Alumni Association Award -University of Pennsylvania
2003-2005 Chair's Merit Scholarship- University of Pennsylvania
2000 Lawrence Kupferman Memorial Award -Massachusetts College of Art
Scholarship for Printmaking Trip in China -Massachusetts College of Art
ARTICLES etc.
2012 "Animation Block Party Spotlight on Mari Jaye Blanchard" Animation Magazine online
Interview with Casey Safron posted by Thomas J. McLean- April 3
2012 Illustration in the book "What I wore Today" by Gemma Correll, Published in the UK by Spruce-March 7
2010 "Success Story" Aniboom interview on aniboom.com May
2007 "Winter of our Discontent" in Philadelphia Daily News, January 17 by Stan Hochman
2005 "School's Clout" in Philadelphia Weekly, Friday May 18, by Roberta Fallon
"A Tribute to an Art Lover" in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Friday May 27, by Edward J. Sozanski
"First Friday Focus" in City Paper, May 5-11 by Lori Hill
2003 GQ magazine July (photograph of mural included in the article "Destination:Boston")
EXPERIENCE
Fall 2012- Teaching Hand-Drawn Animation at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
2005-Present: Independent Animator- Brooklyn, New York
Clients include Sesame Workshop and New York Foundation for the Arts
2002-Present: Store Artist,Trader Joe's-Brooklyn, New York
2012-Dusty Awards Jury Member, School of Visual Arts-New York, New York
2009 Asian American Arts Alliance Panelist 2008 Urban Artist Initiative Grants/Media-New York, New York
2008 New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) Panelist 2007 Video Grants-New York, New York
2007 Artist Abroad Facilitator Ecuador, MYX: Multicultural Youth eXchange
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2006 Animator "The Curse of William Penn", Directed by Rob Marcolina and Mikaelyn Austin
2005 Program Director Mystic Mural Program-Somerville, Massachusetts
2003 Instructor Mural Arts-Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Teaching Assistant "Big Pictures: Mural Art" taught by Jane Golden and Donald Gensler-University of Pennsylvania- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Teaching Associate Citizen Schools-Boston, Massachusetts
2001-2002 Staff Artist/ Crew Supervisor Boston Youth Fund Mural Crew-Boston, Massachusetts
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