Zazie Weldgen was born in 2003 in Tucson, Arizona, and moved to Rochester in 2004. Seemingly, as soon as the cartilage in Zazie’s knees began to develop into bone, she was labeled “an art kid.” So, logically, for many early birthdays, she would be gifted Play-Doh. She would then proceed to lay out the containers of dough on the basement floor and try to eat them as she wanted to taste the pretty colors. In quick succession, her parents tried to steer her towards a less consumable, yet equally, vivid substitute, Crayola crayons. Lucky for her parents, Zazie never developed a palette for wax. Her new ritual involved stuffing her fist with crayons and doodling dayglow scribbles. Although her line quality has greatly improved (some may disagree), her compulsion to cram in as many shades of the rainbow onto a singular piece of paper is a quality that continues to be threaded through her work.

      In 2023, Zazie earned her associate degrees from Monroe Community College in both Fine Art and Illustration. She is currently in her senior year at SUNY Brockport as a BFA Major with a concentration in drawing. In the future, Zazie has expressed great interest in working as an illustrator, especially in children's books. In turn, she likes to approach much of her artwork as if it could be used as a spread in a storybook. She spends an excessive amount of time researching obscure information and infusing personal iconography to create whimsical, surreal realms. Reoccurring motifs include her pet cat and other anthropomorphized creatures, her friends and family, and finely rendered household products to contextualize her fantastical scenes.

     “It is not my intent to disturb my audience, rather, I would like to bring them back to that childhood feeling of living almost full-time in your imagination. Where the unknown or strange is not a paralyzing intrusive thought to be ashamed of, but instead an empty space to dream about possibility. Embrace the weird!!!”