DOES THE "X" IN YOUR NAME STAND FOR XYLOPHONE OR X-RAY?
It does not stand for either of those. It stands for Xavier.

WHERE DID YOU GROW UP?
A little town called Massena, New York very near the Canadian border where it snows from October to May.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE SCHOOL SUBJECT WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE?
History because I loved writing and illustrating my reports.

WHAT WAS THE SUBJECT THAT YOU LIKED THE LEAST?
Mathematics because the answers were either right or wrong and I prefer something in between.

WERE YOU A GOOD STUDENT?
I used to get into a lot of trouble for daydreaming which eventually came in handy.

WHEN DID YOU FIRST BECOME AN ARTIST?
When I finally got to take an actual art class. The first project was to create something called a “bas relief” which was a shoebox filled with sand where I carved out a design and then filled the shoebox with plaster. The final art was the white plaster design. From that moment on I was hooked.

WHERE DID YOU GO TO COLLEGE?
Syracuse University where it snows from October to May.

DO YOU LIKE SNOW?
Not terribly.

WHAT DID YOU STUDY IN COLLEGE?
Advertising Design, but what I most remember were the classes I took in Filmmaking, Printmaking, Scenic Design, and a semester in Florence, Italy.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB OUT OF COLLEGE?
Designing Broadway posters in New York City.

WHAT OTHER SORT OF JOBS HAVE YOU WORKED AT?
I have been an art director at television networks, book jacket designer and illustrator, window designer at Bergdorf Goodman, and visual merchandiser at Dean & Deluca (a fancy food store in New York City).

WHAT WAS THE GREATEST INFLUENCE ON YOUR EARLY WORK?
Walt Disney animated movies.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE KIND OF BOOKS?
I love reading biographies, history books, and rediscovering children's chapter books that I have not read since I was very small.

IF YOU WEREN’T AN ARTIST AND WRITER WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE BEEN?
A puppeteer, a filmmaker, or an urban designer, which is someone who designs cities and parks.

DO YOU HAVE OR DID YOU EVER HAVE A PET?
Yes, I once had a very well-behaved cat named Cappuccino who spoke some Italian.

IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY SORT OF PET WHAT SORT WOULD IT BE?
A dodo bird. But my apartment building does not allow pets!

WHO ARE YOUR HEROS?
Fred Astaire, Oscar Wilde, Harpo Marx, and teachers who love to teach.

IF YOU COULD HAVE LIVED IN ANY OTHER HISTORIC TIME, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
I would have liked to have lived in Paris in the early part of the 20th century.

WHERE DO YOU LIVE NOW?
I live in Brooklyn Heights where I can step out my door and see Manhattan.