David Fisher

I reside in Toronto, Canada. I received a Fine Arts degree from York University, but have always been a painter, a sculptor, and an all 'round creative kind of guy. I've even tried my hand at writing passable short stories.

I now earn a living doing graphics and animation for a local Television station, and I've been through the amazing progression of computer graphics since the 1980s.

But computer generated images don't exist; at least, not in the tactile sense. I need to actually create something that I can hold in my hands! That's where Polymer clay comes in.

My Fimo figures are a natural extension of my penchant for making friends and family broaches, fridge magnets and even earrings over the last 20 years. About 5 years ago, I became aware of McFarlane's line of extremely accurate, and fascinating action figures. The sports figures are amazing, considering they're $15 toys. I decided that I could certainly at least take a stab at making my own versions.

Several discoveries on my part made Polymer clay feasible for detailed 6" figures. First of all, you can bake the stuff over and over, even 20 times, if necessary. You can even paint sections, add more clay, and then re-bake. Next, the brittleness can be a real problem. My solution is stiff wire within legs, arms, etc. Not only does this strengthen the final product, but it stops things from collapsing in the oven during the various re-bakes. For more info, please visit my How It's Done section.

The process of making figures is a cross between a relaxing hobby, and an all-consuming obsession. I estimate that my labour ranges from 30 to 60 hours, or more, for each. This, of course, is spread out over a month or two, depending on how nice the weather is.

I think my style, and visual sensibility, is somewhere between Norman Rockwell, and adolescent comic book fantasies. But what is most important to me, is that there be some light-hearted aspect, and even a sense of humour to my work.