Joan Carol Gratz

Joan Gratz is an Academy Award winning director of animated short films and commercials. Her films range in content through painterly expressions of poetry, improvised abstraction, and animated social documentary.The technique she pioneered is “Claypainting.” Working directly before the camera, she applies bits of clay, blends colors and etches fine lines to create a seamless flow of images. Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase won the Oscar in 1992 for Best Animated Short Film.