Tracey Salaway

"I discovered a sense of love which was needed to give a strong impact and a pessimistic view to my works. Like one of my film’s influence was the infamous film called 'Gogol: The Nose,' produced by Alexeiff & C. Parker. Most films gave me a feeling that something crawled underneath my skin, and that was the feeling I was searching for. One of my biggest influences was the comic strip, the 'Opus n' Bill Outland' by Berkeley Breathed. I believe in the beauty and the creativity that takes place indoors and outdoors; also their character drawings are whimsical and adventurous. Use of very saturated color, the artistic style as clear and crisp; probably very similar to my films." - Tracey Salaway.

Tracey Salaway was born deaf but her parents did not find out until she was two years old.  She was educated in mainstream programs and did not start to sign and felt a part of the larger group until she attended the National Technical Institute for the Deaf/Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York where she earned her B.F.A. in Graphic Design in1985.
 
Salaway returned to RIT in 1991 to study film/video, computer animation and digital arts, and graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in 1995. Her expertise includes Cinematography; Editing; Languages of Film, Art, and Design; Experimental Film/Video production; Video Shorts; Documentary Video; Soundtrack.
 
During her professional experience, Tracey worked and interacted her way up from being a production artist to Art Director for 7 years through various corporations, in-house departments, and art studios. She has produced several short films for national broadcast and various film festivals. She was a contributing filmmaker to PBS's "History Through Deaf Eyes," produced by Larry Hott and Florentine Productions/Hott Productions. For this broadcast, she was commissioned to produce "That's My Marshmallow," a compelling story that brings to life her journey as a deaf child. Her animated short films are lyrical, compelling stories that combine dreams and humor to convey aspects of the deaf experience. Salaway wants her audience to understand that there are certain choices that Deaf people make in their lives, and sometimes choices are made for them. In the end the questions are reverted back to the viewer asking them to re-think the choice they made during the course of their lives.
 
At present, Tracey is a professor in the Art Department at Gallaudet University.