By Meghan Hollister
I Am Building A Forest is made up of about 1500 photos, all shot with my Canon T2i DSLR with a 50mm lens. No color grading or editing was used on any of the photos. Lighting and color effects were achieved with small LED lights. Adobe After FX was used for post-production editing.
Several sets were constructed using foam core, wire framing, found book pages, and other found paper. From sketchbook to final product, this project took about 6 months. This was SUCH a labor of love. As well as A LOT of trial and error. With this being my first stop-motion film, everything was self-taught using the infamous and wonderful Google.
I Am Building A Forest was part of a larger art installation where the film will be projected amidst a life size forest, also made from found book pages.
After graduating with her Bachelor’s in Fine Art in 2011, Meghan continued her to explore her professional artistic career via employment as Product Photographer, Art Educator, and Freelance Artist, working with organizations such as The Figge Art Muesum, and VSA Iowa, as well as exhibiting within venues in and around the Quad Cities’ Area. In 2013, Meghan co-founded the Midwest’s first ecological art gallery, Zola. After some time in gallery work, Meg decided to launch a freelance design studio that combined all of her loves: and Studio No. 2 was born.
Meghan recently relocated to Colorado Springs, and currently lives with her wonderful Partner In Crime, cat Ponyo, and lovely Shepherd Dog Filomena. When Meghan’s not making art, you can find her making other things: Italian food, strange vegetarian dishes, or lost somewhere outside: hiking, gardening, foraging, and doodling.
Ampersand Literary 