The personal: Click here for an colorful interview from my friends at Hello! Good Morning!

The professional: Thorough resume below:

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Emelia Hiltner Designs, Portland, OR - 2012-present
Owner, Designer, Fabricator
-Online and retail ceramics business

HouseSpecial, Portland, OR; Feb 2022 - Sep 2023; and Uniontown, PA and New York City, NY Sep - Oct 2024 
Costumer and Exhibition specialist, short film “Brim Broome Boulevard”
-Worked with an established fashion designer from New York City to bring his costumes to life.
-Responsible for the main character’s costume.
-Patterned and sewed miniature costumes for stop-motion animation puppets. Costumes were engineered with hidden metal components for complex, sustained articulated movement, and had to be exactly duplicated for multiple puppets.
-Lead Puppet specialist overseeing the refurbishing, prep, rigging, display, packing, exhibition, and preservation of 50+ puppets and costumes for the film premier and monthlong exhibition in NYC.

Wendell & Wild LLC, Milwaukie, OR 02/2022-04/2022
Puppet Costumer, feature film “Wendell & Wild”
-Duplicated and refurbished puppet costumes for stop-motion animation; focus on shooting stage support maintaining, repairing, final-checking puppets.

ShadowMachine, Portland, OR and El Taller del Chucho, Guadalajara, Mexico - 08/2019-12/21
Senior Puppet Fabricator, “Pinocchio”
-Invented a patentable process for the fabrication of synthetic fur. Travelled internationally to teach my method.
-Developed the look-of and construction for wigs, fur, and feathers
-Involved in all steps of puppet fabrication including look dev, materials R&D, sculpting, molding, silicone casting, armatures, costumes, hair/fur/feathers, and stage maintenance.

LAIKA, Inc., Hillsboro, OR - 6/2012-3/2018
Hair & Fur Fabricator, “The Boxtrolls” (completed) and “Kubo and the Two Strings” (completed) and “Missing Link” (completed)
-Constructed miniature wigs for stop-motion animation puppets in Academy Award-nominated feature film production. Duties include working with a variety of materials: natural and synthetic fibers, metals, plastic, glues, silicone; using a variety of power and handtools; creating 3D armatured, posable, removable wigs from 2D character designs; following designs and patterns; exact replication of existing wigs; precise color matching of materials including dyeing, blending, painting; cleaning wigs; repairing wigs on and offstage; analyzing film stills for wig aesthetics and continuity; giving and receiving instruction on wig assembly; training coworkers; working quickly, efficiently, and calmly in high-stress situations and time constraints; accurately estimating time for completion of projects; collaborating with other department members to work together on completion of puppets.
-Generalist puppet asset duties, including overall puppet maintenance: tending to armature, silicone, paint, and costume upkeep in response to tight filming deadlines. Maintenance completed in “Puppet Hospital” as well as on-set work, in close quarters with audiovisual equipment, dressing to camera as per director, photographer, and animator demands.

Christ Ascension Lutheran Church After-School Program, Philadelphia, PA - 9/2011-5/2012
Assistant Teacher
-Co-taught daily after-school care for 22 K-5th graders. Duties included picking children up from school and monitoring play; classroom setup; planning and implementing group activities; tutoring; and providing student feedback to director and parents.

Woodsong Hollow, Boyertown, PA - 4/2011-6/2011
Farm Apprentice
-Learned methods and values of raising organic, free-range, local pork, poultry, vegetables. Responsibilities included feeding/watering animals; planting and maintaining garden; maintaining farm infrastructure; customer outreach; and cooking meals.

Friends of Materials for the Arts (FOMA), Long Island City, NY - 6/2008-9/2010
Education Assistant
Materials for the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (MFTA) is a reuse facility that receives donations to redistribute for free to arts nonprofits and public schools. FOMA, a non-profit partner for MFTA, engages in fundraising and education outreach.
-Implemented, scheduled, promoted, and assisted hands-on workshops on integrating recycling/reuse arts into academic classroom.
curriculum. Workshop participants included adults for professional development; K-12 kids for fieldtrips; and outreach events.
-Registered and maintained database for 1500+ arts organizations and public schools to receive free materials.

Plum Tree Pottery, Farmington Hills, MI - 11/2007-5/1008
Artist in Residence/Apprentice in Functional Ceramics
-Selected as the year’s artist-in-residence to receive one-on-one training in working as an independent potter, from crafting to establishing and marketing a business.

Moravian Pottery and Tileworks, Doylestown, PA - 6/2007-8/2007
Artist in Residence/Apprentice
- Hand-produced decorative tiles in the historic tile factory and museum; conducted tours of the factory to the public on a daily basis; all in exchange for studio space.

Professor Dr. Judith Schwartz, PhD, Head of Sculpture/Craft Media Department at NYU, NYC, NY - 1/2005-11/2006
Personal Assistant
-Clerical work in the NYU offices.
-Assisted with Professor Schwartz’s book, Confrontational Ceramics, including textual research, communicating
with artists and galleries, selecting images, and editing text.

Selected SHOWS

ROOTS, Kápolna Gallery, International Ceramics Studio, Kecskemét, Hungary, Nov 2023. Group ceramics show, the product of a one month residency at the International Ceramics Studio, as a 2023 ROOTS Symposium invitee, in collaboration with the Museum of Ethnography in Budapest, Hungary

Guillermo del Toro: Crafting Pinocchio, PAM, Portland, OR, June - Sept 2023, puppet fabrication

Crafty Wonderland, Portland, OR, April 2023

Guillermo del Toro: Crafting Pinocchio, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) NYC, NY, Dec 2022 – Apr 2023, puppet fabrication

Renegade Craft Fair, juried show and Growth Grant Recipient, Seattle, WA, Dec 2022

Portland Bazaar Holiday Market, juried show, Portland, OR, Dec 2022

La Paloma Holiday Market, Portland, OR, Nov-Dec 2022

Slabtown Outdoor Market, ceramics vendor, Portland, OR, Summer 2022

Portland Flea Market, ceramics vendor, Portland, OR, Summer 2022

Solo ceramics show, “Cheers” at Hello Good Morning, Portland, OR- 12/2020

Philadelphia Punk Rock Flea Market - 12/2011

High Point Café Sunday Market, Philadelphia, PA, craft vendor - 10/2011

Margins, The Commons Gallery, NYU, NYC, NY, Feb 2010

Performance at IMA Gallery, Soapbox Lecture Series, Columbus, OH - 11/2008

Work for sale at The Gallery at the Appalachian Center for Craft, Smithville TN - 5/2007-2011

Cabin Comforts, Saviour Scraps at Secret Project Robot, Brooklyn, NY - 12/2006-2/2007

Storefront/Forefront, NYU exhibition at Tower Records, NYC, NY - 5/2005

Auction for Action, curated by Jasmine Tsou, The Commons Gallery, NYU, NYC, NY - 10/2005

Solo show, Sympathy for the Kettle Teahouse, NYC, NY - 5/2005

Chaos & Candy, Deitsch Projects, Brooklyn, NY - 12/2004

EDUCATION

New York University, New York, NY - 9/2002-1/2006
Bachelor of Fine Arts, 3.89 GPA, magna cum laude

Tennessee Technological University, Appalachian Center for Craft, Smithville, TN - 1/2007-5/2007
Post-Baccalaureate studies in Ceramics

Portland Fashion Institute - 2018
Apparel Construction, 3-course series, completed

Multnomah Center for the Arts, Portland, OR - 2018
Continuing Ed courses in Metalsmithing

Oregon College of Art and Craft, Studio School, Portland, OR - 2017-2018
Continuing Ed courses in Metalsmithing

Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC - 7/2007
Work-study scholarship for ceramics course

Nontraditional Employment for Women, New York, NY - 1/2010-2/2010
Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program. Completed coursework in: Basic Electricity, Carpentry, Handtools, Health & Safety Standards

Hudson High School, Hudson, OH - 9/1998-6/2002
HS Diploma, Salutatorian (2/399)