A Louisiana native, Caroline Thomas grew up with New Orleans Mardi Gras as an essential annual tradition. While pursuing a degree in fine art painting from the Art Academy of Cincinnati, she became increasingly interested in the roots and craft of Carnival. In 2008, as a graduating senior, she received the Stephen H. Wilder Traveling Scholarship, with which she was able to visit Trinidad for Carnival, which expanding her understanding of parades as a form of personal and community expression. Her time there developed into a deep love for the art of the headdress, which she continues to expand upon in bigger and more opulent formations. She started working on Mardi Gras floats in New Orleans 2008 with the float production company Royal Artists Inc. Working her way up as float painter, she is now the designer, art director, and lead painter of the Krewe of Proteus and the Rex Organization, the last two remaining 19th Century parades in the city. Thomas’s career reflects a passion for storytelling, community-oriented art, and the preservation (and evolution) of traditional artforms.