Genie Gypsy Woman

Tommy Simms is an interdisciplinary artist from Wisconsin. He perfected his stop-motion animation technique while attending the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. His senior film, “The Legend of Leatherface Larry” went on to be showcased at the Festival de Cannes. After achieving his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, Tommy co-founded Out of Toon Studios. The studio’s team is dedicated to teaching the art of animation, while also creating original films. Their animated short, “Genie Gypsy Woman,” was awarded Best Animated Music Video at the Rincón International Film Festival. In addition to the work with Out of Toon Studios, Tommy has had his animations and puppetry featured on PBS, in local theatre productions, and at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. For years he has inspired the next generation of artists, teaching puppetry and stop-motion classes at art camps across the United States. His animated adventures now continue with SIMWIG films, currently creating music videos with the surf-pop indie-rock band, Fuzzysurf.
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At the ripe ol' age of 6, Jamie Hazelwood discovered a whole new world in animation and hasn’t left it since! From the classic hand drawn Disney films to the amazingly detailed recent stop motion films, inspiration has never stopped for Jamie! He studied Art and Animation at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee under the tutelage of Disney Animator, Tim Decker. During his time at UWM, he specialized in stop motion and created the short “The Misadventures of Nigel and Reginald: The Necessity of Narcissisim”, a tale of two arrogant bumbling treasure hunters in search of fame and adventure. Jamie continued his animation education at the Milwaukee Area Technical College, and learned the craft of 3D Animation. Upon his graduation, he was awarded the "Lamp of Knowledge" trophy, which is given to one student who best represents the program through hard work and dedication, handpicked by the department professors. Jamie's adventure continues through his work with Out of Toon Studios and Mark Kistler's Summer Art Camps.