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Avard Fairbanks, Teacher & Sculptor

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Episodes:

• Sculpture Requires Intimate Knowledge of the Details

  Avard Fairbanks sculpts a clay bust of Lincoln. He talks about the dangers of overworking a subject and the need to execute even small details with confidence. He speaks of his friend, Carl Sandberg, who knew the characters he wrote about and how that intimate knowledge of one's model is necessary for all artists.

  Length:	00:01:47

• The Story of Avard Fairbanks' First Sculpture

  Avard Fairbanks uses hand chisels, measuring devices and power tools to sculpt a marble bust of Abraham Lincoln. He tells about his first sculpture, made at age 12, of a clay rabbit that he sculpted from his live, pet rabbit,. He talks about his disappointment at being denied an award at the Utah State Fair because he couldn't qualify as a "professional artist" and how that disappointment encouraged him to work even harder.

  Length:	00:03:30

• The Story of Sculpting the Hood Ornament for the Dodge Ram

  Fairbanks tells about being hired by Chrysler Corporation to make a hood ornament for their Plymouth automobiles. He sculpted one in the shape of a mermaid that the company representatives liked. So when they needed an ornament for their new line of Dodges, Fairbanks looked through his book on animals and offered to sculpt a horse, bear, or panther for their consideration. They finally agreed on the image of a ram. When the Chrysler people asked what the ram meant, he gave them a clever answer and the Dodge Ram was born!

  Length:	00:02:24

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