Painted Faces & Palmettos searches for what is left of Sarasota’s clowning past, an attempt to listen for the stories that linger in the warm Florida air. Through film photography and collected fragments of archival ephemera, I follow the traces of performers who once stepped into vibrant costumes not to hide, but to be seen in a different light.

The willingness to offer joy to strangers, to embrace a humorous part of oneself so completely that laughter becomes a form of service. That rare bravery is what draws me to clowning. Yet today, clowns are more often feared than cherished — their faces twisted by cultural myth into something unrecognizable. Due to the depiction of clowns as creatures of horror, the fear has begun to outweigh the joy they offer and push them out of culture. I want to look again, gently and with care, at the people who carried this tradition with devotion. 

By photographing the spaces they touched, documenting the ephemera related to their history, and gathering their words, I try to peel back the layers of makeup to reveal something tender underneath: a community built on humor, hope, and a deep belief in wonder. These images move beyond spectacle to consider what has been erased. 

Painted Faces & Palmettos is a poem to what remains—an invitation to reflect on a fading history, so we do not forget that clowns are not creatures of horror, but simply people who seek to bring lightness to our world.