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ROBERT BLAIR
Robert Blair resides in Ottawa and is proud to be a
Canadian. He is a part-time sculptor, full time hair dresser with
his own shop. Being a fantasy freak, Robert was a fantasy
freak at a young age. It was his wife, who set him on his way to
sculpting. Growing up in Toronto Robert is self
taught with no official art school training. He learned from tons of
research and lots of self-training. You can view some of Roberts
work, which is for sale on his website, that is maintained
from by his wife. Sculpting is something the man would love to
do full-time.
Hey, on to the
interview.
SF2K: What really got
you into sculpting?
RB: I started
sculpting because my wife was doing some paper-machete figures and
I've always been fond of those fantasy figures you see in
stores so I started sculpting in fire-kilned clays. I couldn't
get the detail I wanted in these type of clays, so I did a bit
of research and found out that most pros use Super Sculpey. So I
started because of my darling wife. (Robert's wife also designed and
maintains his website.)
Tim: What's the
process you use to start a sculpture? Are sketches involved?
RB: If their my own
original concepts I have a sketch in my head. If there figures from
movies , comics, etc I'll use as much reference material I can get.
Tim: You say you have
the sculpture in your head. Do you sketch it out or what?
RB: I usually work on
the fly, or I get ideas from reference material.
Tim: Do you do
full-size busts or is your work limited to Mini-sculptures?
RB: I've never
sculpted a full size bust yet, but I will.
Tim: Do you do other
sculpture work besides horror figures?
RB: Yes, I've
done sculpts for toy companies that are not in the horror genre, and
I've done a couple of classic busts e.g like the old masters
work.
Tim: Which sculpture
is your favorite? Mine is the Dutch figure from Predator (played by
Arnold Schwartzenegger). How long did that one take?
RB: I really
don't know, there are sculpts I like more than others ,
like "Dreadspell" "Alien Hybrid" the clown busts
were fun as well. The Arnie figure took about a couple of weeks to
sculpt.
Tim: The Arnold
was entered in a contest right? How did it do?
RB: Yeah, I entered it
in the Chiller Theatre contest and Arnie came in 3rd.
Tim: Recently you did
an award for a magazine? Which magazine was it for? Are they
planning to do further awards and will you be involved? Any plans
for another one I guess is what I am asking?
RB: The sculpture I
did for an award was for a horror publisher, it turned out to be a
nightmare, I shipped the award in the Chicago area and they received
it in pieces. I began sculpting another one to replace it, when lo and
behold the publishers office was flooded and there was no cash
flow - so I got axed. Shit happens.
Tim: Weren't
you contracted to do a new sculpture for a Canadian toy company? I
know it's hush hush, but... can you tell us anything?
RB: I
sculpted 2 figures for a company in Montreal and I am sculpting a
figure for a company in Toronto. Unfortunately I cannot say what
they are yet. (I signed a Non-Disclosure - Agreement for both
companies)
Tim: Have you done any
other sculptures for toys?
RB: I've done 2
rough sculpts for McFarlane Toys, Lars the drummer for Metallica and
Joe Sakic (hockey player) rough sculpts meaning I sculpted the pose
and proportion and some detail on the figures. Their in house
sculptors sculpted the finished figure. I also sculpted King Theoden
and Tom Bombadil for ToyVault as a trial but they never saw the
light of day.
Tim: When you're
contracted for a project how much help to they give you? (Do they
have pre-design work or do you work different designs out for them
or what?
RB: Yes, everything is
pre-designed I get control art from the companies. Some companies
are so strict, that what they send you is what they want. With them
you don't
stray from their design or add things to the sculpture.
Tim: Do you actively
search for projects or are these companies contacting you?
RB: I am ALWAYS
looking for work! I want to sculpt full time, and I am not there
yet. Whether its in-house or freelance, I'm willing to relocate. The
companies I have done work for in Canada found me, via the internet.
I work very hard to get my work SEEN! This is an extremely competitive
business.
Tim: When you say your
willing to relocate, does that mean moving from Canada or just a
temporary move to do the work and then it's home to the wife and
kid?
RB: We'll move just
about anywhere, my wife was born in the USA so it would make a move
much easier. Were not afraid of change. I'll do temporary work as
well. It doesn't matter what the work is, as long as I get an
opportunity to do some sculpting ,I'm there!
Tim: What type of clay
do you use for sculpting?
RB: I almost always
use Super Sculpey - it's a polymer clay and cures in the oven when
you bake it. I also use Castilene as well - it's a wax-clay
mixture that I generally use when I'm sculpting toys.
Tim: When doing a bust
figure, is it all clay? Is there a filler material that the clay is
placed over? What about your miniature sculptures?
RB: All the figures ,
busts etc.. I sculpt in Super Sculpey. They have a wire armature or
in the case of a bust would have balls of tin foil as a filler.
Tim: If you could
sculpt full-time would you close your business or hire people to
work in the store and keep it running?
RB: I would have no
problem closing it down. I have a business partner who is willing
and able to take it over.
Tim: Thanks for the
interview Robert.
RB: No problem, Tim If
you need anything else let me know.
There you have it
folks. An interview with a hungry to sculpt Robert Blair. Please
check out his website and take a look at his work. While your there
you might find a Sculpture that's just right for you. Again the website is
http://www.blairsculpture.com
Take a visit today.
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