Thin Skinned

Heather Houde

Antípoda

A collage of texts, illustrations, and voyeuristic observations, that chronicles the horror and humor of everyday life as seen through one bay window in Philadelphia. With real and made-up tales of steamy cannibalism, the Virgin Mary, and a shotgun wedding, this book is like a scrapbook of local newspaper clippings shellacked with glitter and existential dread.

The Battered Madonna, one of the stories of the book, was published in Tribes Magazine.

Heather was born in New Haven, Connecticut, and is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is a multimedia artist, writer, dancer and translator. Most of her energy goes into puppetry, for which she has created and performed a number of DIY/underground performances. She was certified in Taxidermy at the Superior Institute for Taxidermy and Conservation in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her art education has been primarily self taught, through endless hours in her studio, reading every book she can, and learning by observing and doing. She has taught movement at Urban Movement Arts where she has been able to meet and collaborate with and learn through osmosis from the Philadelphia movement community.