Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Robert Chad’s Artist Sketchbook and Process.

Keepsake Artist, Robert Chad doesn’t fool around when it comes to brainstorming new ideas for his ornaments. Instead, he goes right to his sketchbook. “I’m not big on research,” he said. “I like to draw. A few of years ago, I bought an iPad with an Apple pencil, so I could start drawing digitally. It kind of got me back into drawing. There’s even a program I use that creates a video of your drawing—I’ve posted those videos on the Community web site before.”

Whether in a paper sketchbook or on his iPad, Robert’s ideas can go through quite the metamorphosis from his original concept to the actual ornament that ends up on Christmas trees in homes all over the world. “You’re always creating throughout the entire process,” he said. “Sometimes technical things get in your way, or the price. Plus, there are so many hands involved in the creation of our ornaments. That’s the truth about how things are made in Keepsakes—’it takes a village’ is not just a saying. It really does. By the end of the process, it’s become something a lot different than where it started.”

Robert remembers one ornament in particular that went through a big transformation before it became an ornament. “I worked on a hand-blown glass fox in recent years,” he said. I sketched it first, then Ken did some drawings and I really went from Ken’s insight, but in the end, it looked nothing like either of our sketches. The factory in Poland made changes to soften the look and make it work in blown glass—something we know very little about. Things changed and changed, but we ended up with a great ornament that has a ton of great detail.”

Dapper Fox

And detail is something Robert knows well. After more than 30 years of sculpting Keepsake Ornaments by hand, he still has a few tricks up his sleeve—one of them being the actual wax he uses to sculpt every day. “Years ago, Duane Unruh invented a concoction of wax that became the wax we all used,” said Robert. “The shop at Hallmark attempted to make us a wax that was similar, but never got close. You can’t get your hands on some of the original ingredients anymore. Interesting fact? I still have a big stash of the original wax that I use today. I melt down old sculpts and reuse that wax over and over and over. I’m using recycled wax from 30 years ago so every sculpt I’ve ever done is inside what I’m working on now.”

Box of recycled wax sculpts