How does an artist – or anyone else – acquire their creativity?  For Sandra Blair, the gift came from her father, a practicing magician.  His ability to reach people, to use the mystery of illusion, to empower people to see what they couldn’t see before, led directly to the magic of her art.  After all, what is art if not reaching out to people, showing them something new, and inviting them to interact with and interpret what they see?

“I want the average person to be able to relate to my work,” says Blair.  “I consider each piece to be a spontaneous personal statement, a reflection of my mood and life at the time.  There’s no reason why another person can’t respond to that intuitively, whether they know a lot about art or not.”

Sparking reactions from her audiences has never been a problem for Blair.  She first gained national fame – or notoriety – as a result of a large-scale sculpture installed for an exhibition entitled “Artists’ Personal Monuments” at New Orleans Contemporary Art Center in 1977.  The piece, a humorous and slightly irreverent take-off on Michelangelo’s famous “Creation of Man” prompted instant controversy, a police raid, national press coverage and a complete sell-out of the exhibit.

Using symbols from the ages is an essential theme in Blair’s work.  She often takes primitive or folk art elements and recasts them in a contemporary setting.  Inspired by ethnographic art and antique textiles and rugs, the paintings are embellished with up to 25 translucent layers of pigments - oils, acrylics, powdered pigments, waxes, oil varnishes, various metal leafs, oil pastels and pencils, creating complex surfaces which mimic glass enameling or cloisonne¢.  The effect is a fundamentally familiar feeling that seems to almost dance with light and color.  Music plays a major part in the creation of each piece.  Music conjures up feelings and emotions of people, places and memories of places such as Guatemala, Antigua, the beaches of Mexico, the mountains of New Mexico.  If you look at a piece, it will draw your mind’s eye into its depth, and allow you to view a little piece of the artist’s soul.

The spontenaeity, the festive quality of Blair’s work reflects the influences of New Orleans and Louisiana environment in which the artist thrives.  The City of New Orleans is in many ways an ongoing performance art show, and Blair has played a leading role on many occaisions.  In particular, she reigned for many years as the “Queen of Clones” in the NOCA satirical art parade – The Crewe of Clones – which she co-founded and organized for 7 years.  The parade, a satire of establishment Mardi Gras, was funded by grants and corporate sponsorships.  It drew national publicity from ABC’s Nightline, CBS News, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Art News, High Performance Magazine, Variety, and Art In America.  Blair inhaled the traditional and non-traditional of a city that was so steeped in culture that it was in itself a cultural quilt of many flavors, mystery, and intrigue.

Blair also believes in the responsibility of the artist as businessperson, and the importance of working with other artists in the role of arts administrator.  She has been the Contemporary Craft Director for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, on the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Crafts Council, served on the Visiting Arts Committee of Loyola University’s art department, founded the Rhino Contemporary Craft Company (a non-profit dedicated to showcasing the art of Louisiana craft artists), and also founded and operated the Chihuahua Gallery, a pioneering craft gallery in the warehouse arts district of New Orleans.  In the early 1990’s, Blair decided to concentrate more fully on the art which has become her main interest in the past decade.  She had taken courses in ceramics with master ceramist Charles Bohn, as well as jewelry and metal classes with esteemed goldsmith, Harold O’Connor, and was ready to create new techniques of her own.  For the next decade, her trademark painted and embellished pottery would be her main focus, and she won several honors and awards for her unusual techniques.

Her work, which combines paintings on both ceramic and on more traditional surfaces such as board, canvas and paper, can be found in many collections throughout the country, including the Ritz-Carlton Hotel - San Juan, Puerto Rico, Bank One, Bank of the South – Miami, Florida, The Jackson Public Library in Mississippi, and the Grand Casino in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, to name just a few.

Despite her eclectic variety of projects and interests, at the heart of Blair’s hectic life is her art.  The sensuous yet disciplined exuberance of the work stimulates, challenges, and ultimately captivates her audiences.  Blair is constantly challenged by the opportunity to explore new terrain, assimilate new influences and experience the intensity of personal artistic growth.