Meet Art Fairchild: Sculptor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Art Fairchild and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Art, how do you think about risk?
Taking risks always pushes boundaries. In my life, the level of risk I have been willing to take has been on a sliding scale. As a young person, I was fearless and stepped out in blind faith that my pursuits would be met with success.  As I grew older, I met risk with a more calculated approach. When I decided to completely change my path to a career as an artist, I took the knowledge and skills acquired throughout my life, paired it with renewed zeal and moved forward without trepidation.

When I was a young man and introduced to the trade show exhibit business, the intrigue and fascination initially made me hungry to learn carpentry skills needed to fabricate these types of structures. After having worked in the industry for a good number of years, I accumulated the knowledge and skills to weigh the risk of continuing to work for other groups or beginning my own entrepreneurial path with unlimited possibilities. I determined that the benefits associated with taking risk outweighed a more conservative path. I believed I had the ability to express original creations and the  potential to build an enterprise limited only by my own calculations, efforts and good fortune.

While building what turned out to be a successful trade show exhibit company, taking risks exposed capabilities.  Some, I didn’t realize I possessed.  That self-awareness added significantly to how I’ve chosen to approach risk taking. 

I’m a natural born risk taker, always willing to take chances.  Making the decision to pursue art full-time, comes with no financial guarantee.  Ups and downs come in numerous ways but a long history of landing on my feet fuels my drive, along side following my passion of course. There are times when doubt creeps in, and it always does, I remind myself, this is not a destination, its a journmey.  Risk means no guarantee, but risk always leads to growth.  Let’s keep learning and growing.  What’s there to lose?

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
The driving force behind my work is the interaction and intricacies of shape, form and balance: contrasting simplicity with complexity. I have always been intrigued by the interplay of textures utilizing wood, metal, stone and glass to create dynamic and visually captivating works of art.  My detail-oriented personality, coupled with a chronic fascination for construction and engineering, has proven to be well suited to explore my life-long dream of creating artwork that is not only pleasing to the eye, but whose accuracy and form can be engaging.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
One of our favorite places for musical entertainment in Dallas is the Kessler Theater.  We’ll take our guests to this casual and historical Art Deco converted movie theater located on W. Davis Street in Oak Cliff. The venue attracts national touring acts where we will enjoy the small intimate “listening room” with it’s amazing acoustics.  

After the show we’ll take a short jaunt over to Hunky’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers in Bishop Arts where we’ll have one of the best burgers in town!  I like the grass fed angus burger!

If we’re still hungry and in the mood for desert, we’ll stroll over to Emporium Pies.  It’s a small house and not much room inside but there’s seating outside.  The pies are made fresh and they’re mighty delicious! 

The next day we’ll drive to the Farmers Market just south of downtown.  It’ll be fun and especially since we’ll be cooking at home.  We enjoy the fresh produce and supporting our local farmers.  The various shops and specialty food vendors in the Market are fun and a good place to cool down after we’ve been roaming around Ruibals looking at landscaping at one of our favorite landscape nurseries.  

They’re from a big city too.  We just want to get out of town for a while so we dive out to our country place!!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I am very fortunate and thankful to have made lifelong friends that I love and cherish. I’m so grateful to Samuel Lynne Galleries, as they continue to be a tremendous asset in promoting my work and my friends there make me feel like family. My daughter Kaycee has been a tremendous help and I appreciate her more than she could ever know. My beautiful girlfriend Lisa continues to provide her unwavering support. She both encourages and challenges me in the most loving way.

Website: artfairchild.com
Instagram: artfairchild
Facebook: @fairchildstudio
Youtube: art fairchild