I’m Monstark, an award-winning puppet filmmaker and monster artist in Portland, Oregon. My films are dark fantasy and horror made with simple methods: puppets, sets and props built by hand, puppetry performed live on camera, with heart-led storytelling. They’ve premiered at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, played Screamfest in Los Angeles, and screened across the United States and Canada.

I make sympathetic monsters: weird and creepy things with hearts and souls. Lately, the monsters have started talking, too. An old werewolf shares his teachings in Werewolf Wisdom, and Tanword introduces you to the Cosmic Slug and its Glistening Path.

ACCOLADES

BEST IN FESTIVAL
Astoria Horrorfest · The Outsider

2ND PLACE OF 115
Heather Henson’s 48 Hour Puppet Film Project · Higher Ground (with Pagan Circus)

BEST BUMPER
Portland Horror Film Festival · Kaiju Fodder

WINNER, PICKMAN’S APPRENTICE
H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, 2019

OFFICIAL POSTER ARTIST
H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, 2021

20+ OFFICIAL SELECTIONS & NOMINATIONS
US & Canada, 2023–2025

THE LOVECRAFT CONNECTION

I may be the only person on Earth adapting H.P. Lovecraft with handmade puppets performed live on camera. My heartfelt take on his work has earned passionate support from Lovecraft fans, even fan art, which is a real honor.

I’ve also been part of Portland’s Lovecraftian film community for years, and the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival has recognized me in just about every way it can: I won its Pickman’s Apprentice artist competition and made its official poster, I was a panelist at its 30th anniversary, and two of my films world-premiered at the festival in Providence, Lovecraft’s hometown.

THE PHILOSOPHY

Just make the thing. I believe you already have what you need to start: don’t wait for the good gear, the perfect moment, or anyone’s permission.

My breakout film was built in a 10×15-foot shed out of recycled junk, shot on an old phone and finished in two weeks. I jumped into making puppet films without knowing the first thing about camera tech or filmmaking, trusting that it would work out, and that set me on an entirely new creative path that’s given me a new community and taken my moving pictures around the world.

Call it adhocism: make it with what you have, and let the seams show. Don’t gatekeep yourself out of a creative life. Start small and keep moving.