Big Sky is a stopmotion collaboration between Ruth Bauer and Blyth Hazen. This animated short is a coming of age story about a young artist living in Texas in the 1960s. Both Ruth and Blyth grew up in Texas, and both left as young adults. But Texas never left them. The characters and the stories in Big Sky are amalgamation of their own childhood experiences dealing with religion, race, beauty, the landscape and horned toads.

The first of seven scenes set in Edna’s Beauty Salon is under production and shooting will begin in summer 2022. Production stills above.

More images from R & D and the development of set, puppets, props and story are copied below. Updates on the progress of Big Sky can also be found on Instagram #bigskystopmotion