Tim Bruckner's earliest memory of sculpting was when he was seven. He sculpted little heads of the Seven Dwarves out of wax tubes a disgustingly sweet liquid candy was packaged in. From the very beginning, he was a wax sculptor. He uses a different kind of wax now and stays away from sweets, for the most part. He started working professionally at 18 as a jeweler's apprentice/wax carver. He sculpted several hundred wildlife waxes that became rings, pendants, broaches and belt buckles. It was the single most valuable experience of his professional life. In those two years, he learned the foundation of his art that would sustain him for over forty years.
After leaving the jewelry racket, he found a very patient and sympathetic agent and started working as a freelancer. His first free lance job was for Max Factor, sculpting a menagerie of fanciful animals and decorative objects. From there he sculpted two alligator suits for the movies Joe Panther and Alligator. He did a handful of album covers for various artists; Ray Charles, Ringo Starr, The Average White Band, George Clinton and Parliament and a dust jacket for Cat Stevens. He stepped away from sculpting for awhile to pursue a music career. When common sense returned in the form, shape and substance of his amazing wife, Mary, he went back to sculpture with a vengeance.
After leaving the jewelry racket, he found a very patient and sympathetic agent and started working as a freelancer. His first free lance job was for Max Factor, sculpting a menagerie of fanciful animals and decorative objects. From there he sculpted two alligator suits for the movies Joe Panther and Alligator. He did a handful of album covers for various artists; Ray Charles, Ringo Starr, The Average White Band, George Clinton and Parliament and a dust jacket for Cat Stevens. He stepped away from sculpting for awhile to pursue a music career. When common sense returned in the form, shape and substance of his amazing wife, Mary, he went back to sculpture with a vengeance.
A partial client list (partial because he can't remember all the crap he made and for whom he made it.) includes: DC Direct, Mattel, Kenner, Hasbro, Toy Biz, Bowen Designs, Sideshow, Gentle Giant, Electric Tiki, Reel Arts, Enesco, Dakin, The Hamilton Group, Hallmark, Applause, American Greetings, Department 56, Ashton Drake, Franklin Mint, Geometric, Graham Nash, Harry Nilsson and the Danbury Mint. He was under contract to DC Direct for awhile and worked almost exclusively for them for almost a dozen years. One of his most gratifying professional experiences was designing and sculpting the DC Dynamics line based on the art of J. C. Leyendecker.
Recently he’s been busy designing and sculpting resin kits. His Ode to Joy kit, a bust of Beethoven caught mid- chuckle, will be among the featured images of the great man in a book published this year by Bildersammlung Museum Beethoven-Haus, Bonn, Germany.
For the past 26 years he and his wife, their two kids and three dogs have lived and thrived on a 40-acre hobby farm outside a small town in western Wisconsin.
Learn more at TimBruckner.com!
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