Back for Moore
Clayburn Moore has been in the business of sculpting fine art for a long time. He has earned a reputation for being one of the very best there is in this field. The human form is a mystery that so many times it seems that only a few others have unlocked and Clayburn Moore is one of these few. He has been wowing us all for years with his gorgeous females and his brawny heroes. Clay is one of the friendliest and good-natured sculptors there are. I recently have had the extreme pleasure of being able to "sit" down with Clay and ask him a flurry of questions. Even questions as simple as our friend, kick-ass sculptor, and future interviewee, Andy Bergholtz (HULKFAN) had...
What does the "S" in "CS Moore Studio" stand for? It's been bugging the hell out of me and I can't figure it out! Is it just his middle initial or something?
Yes Andy, my talented amigo, Clay has replied, "The "S" is for Samuel, which is my middle name."
Now without further ado I give you part one of my interview with the immensely talented Clayburn Moore.
SF: First off I would like to say thank you for answering these questions for us at Statue Forum. I am very excited that you are here and have your own section here. More excited still that Dan, knowing what a big fan I am or your work, asked me if I wanted to be the one to do it. We are all very excited that you have reformed your business and started wowing us with your work again from Moore Studios. Right out of the gate you have hit us with gorgeous pieces like Liberty Meadows and Kabuki as well as Eric Larsen’s She-Dragon. I know that you have been sculpting all along but somehow it feels like you went off the radar for a bit and now you are back with a vengeance. How does it feel to be back with your own thing?
CSM: It is fantastic. The response has been great and is very much appreciated. I really do best working directly with creators and bringing their characters to 3-D. I feel as though I'm doing some good work these days and I'm having a terrific time doing it.
SF: How did you get started in the sculpting business and what is your education in the arts Clay?
CSM: I come from an artistic family and we always used to draw and such for fun. There were about six of us out of nine that were artistically gifted. I was stronger in sculpture and always found myself more comfortable doing that. I decided to major in Fine Arts and got my Bachelor's degree from the University of Texas. Home of the Longhorns: The national champions, although I really had nothing to do with that.
After UT, I spent two years studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, Italy, but lived there a third year.
In 1992 or so, Randy Bowen contacted me after he saw my sculptures entered in the art show of the San Diego Comicon. I had done an art exhibit of my fine art sculptures and at the last minute decided to enter them in San Diego. He apparently thought my skills would be well given to a Vampirella sculpture.
I did the Death Statue from Vertigo comics although Bowen changed the head and hair. I did a couple more pieces with BD and then started my own company licensing characters such as Savage Dragon, Pitt, Ripclaw, Lady Death, Shi and the Maxx. I then did Witchblade, Aphrodite IX, Fathom and others. I started Moore Action Collectibles and did a number of action figures for several years including Chaos characters, Witchblade, Vampirella, and a lot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters.
