Crafting A Dream | Wax Artist

Grit | American Life & Traditions | Aug. 2003

Constantly surrounded by the silence of movie stars, presidents and even gruesome monsters that nightmares are made of, Sonya Vasquez explores history in a very unique way.  She creates life-size moments in time through her art.  Now at the age of 29 she casually name-drops Brad Pitt, Michael Jackson and she’s even on first name basis with numerous presidents.

“I love my job,” she smiles brightly, “ I’m living my childhood dream.”

From molten wax Sonya gives life to history in an awesome, yet eerie form managing to stop time with brief glimpses of historic moments. As an artisan she has become a sculptress of wax creating life-size figures crafted with unbelievable accuracy and detail.  Her defining art has made her the only woman in the United States employed to create such remarkable life casts. “There are less than a half dozen wax artisans in this country that do what I currently do.  It is such an ancient art form.”

“This is something that I have always wanted to do since I was a kid.  After a field trip to a wax museum I quickly informed my mother that I had found the perfect job and what I was going to do when I grew up.” She slightly laughs standing next to one of her latest creations, President Bush, quite taller than her.  “My mother didn’t want me to major in art – especially sculpture.   You’ll never have anything, she warned me.” 

 
Setting out to fulfill her dream, she attended the University of North Texas, concentrating of portraitures and sculpture.  By the age of 24 she was working at a wax museum as an artist learning the secrets of an ancient art form to creating the life size waxen images.          

“This is a craft that has been around before Christ, in ancient Egypt they made wax sculptures to protect their tombs.”   She continues, “This isn’t something that you just go out and do, I studied with the artist that was here before me.  He taught me how to make a head mold and some basics.  Very few . . .” she pauses, “there are only a few that really know how to do this craft.  It’s really something that has been handed down and self-taught.  I learned by practicing and developing my own techniques, read a lot of books to learn different procedures.  It’s these bits and pieces that make up the secrets of this defined art.”

A backdrop of clippings, images of President Bush fill the wall behind Sonya as she holds up a partial mold of the president’s head.   “I gather every image possible.  I have folders of photographs, magazine covers of each of these people I’ve created.   From their photos, numerous videos or what ever I can get I study them I define their image.  In the end you can only go with one look, so you have to capture that expression or image you think people visualize in their minds with that personality.  You want to get as close as you can.” She ponders to clarify, “Take Clint Eastwood holding a gun – that tough guy look on his face – this is obviously how you’re going to make him.”

Sonya dedicates her talent to researching each figure that she creates. “People envision cold rooms and the horrors of old movies with Vincent Price and the House of Wax.”  She laughs, “They are kept at room temperature.  Its much like candle wax, but not actually candle wax.  I formulate and blend my own wax with flesh tints, my trade secret.  They are as life like as possible.  I sometimes sculpt the body casts from head to toe or if I can find a mannequin body of the right size and shape I begin with that.”  Starting from a 35-pound water-based block of clay she carves and molds with her hands the face and then casts a mold; then fills that mold with wax.  The heads are hollow and with prosthetic eyes and dental teeth the face begins to stare. “Their hair is real; each strand is inserted with a needle which takes about 40 hours work per head.  It’s very, very tedious like with Julia Roberts, her hair is so long and thin.”   The hands are life cast from human hands and some feet are also depending on the character she is creating. 

History is preserved. The finest detail from eye color to height, with research of time period clothing to movie settings, she manages to bring forth a likeness that makes one take a second look for evidence of life. 

Wax figures, as we know them today, began in Medieval Europe to preserve likeness of great personages by making death masks. From these bronze images were made.   Of the most famous artesian, Madame Tussaud, began much like Sonya, she became an apprentice of her uncle.  Tussaud’s fame came during the French Revolution where she was assigned the arduous task of taking hundreds of death mask from the beheaded victims of the guillotine. Most of these were destroyed during the Revolution but later she opened her famous Madame Tussaud’s Royal London Wax Museum. 

Life images of General Grant, George Washington, King Edward, and Mary Queen of Scots are preserved today by the use of this haunting craft.  Their death masks give us today an exact replica of how they truly looked.

Wax figures fascinate visitors; it is a three-dimensional art form that gives onlookers an eerie feeling of meeting the real person.   Children, as well as adults, can see a captured moment of prominent figures in history.   Many of the completed figures are valued in an excess of $17,000 to $22,000.  The collection of art ranges from Hollywood classic stars to the terror of haunting images like Dracula and Phantom of the Opera.

“They can last a long time, I believe one of the oldest wax figures on exhibit is 250 years old in London England.  As long as they are maintained and taken care of and not in the hot sun it is surprising.”  She emphasizes, “I maintain their makeup and even take the heads to beauty salon to have their hair done.”  She laughs, “Don’t think that doesn’t raise an eyebrow or two.  Once my car broke down and I didn’t have a cell phone -- too much technology, too many buttons.  There I was, I hadn’t placed the head in a box I had to walk blocks with Jody Foster’s head under my arm -- it was embarrassing.”

“I simply say I’m an artist when people ask what I do.  It is hard to explain, they have those old movie images in mind.  Some are fascinated by it and some are leery about what I do.  But I love it!”

Obviously proud of her work and its ability to tantalize, terrify and captivate people she has found the job of her dreams.  “Children love them, much like I did when I was young.  Sometimes they are so life like that when I move one and continue working and I forgot that I moved it, it startles me slightly when I catch it out of the corner of my eye.” 

With constant frozen gazes Hitler, Benjamin Franklin and now President Bush in the quietness of a museum we are confronted face-to-face with the indescribable realities of our time.

“I love that this is an old world craft that has survived over time and I do it as traditionally as possible, the same way its been done for centuries.  Everything is wax as much as possible to stay with the tradition of the art form.”

Sonya Vasquez has made her mark to preserve history and has managed to fulfill her dreams.   She is currently the sole wax artist in Grand Prairie and San Antonio Texas creating timeless figures for the Palace of Wax which houses 42 presidents’ among the 224 life size wax figures. . 

For more information about the history of wax figure art one might visit the websites:  www.palaceofwax.com and www.madame-tussauds.com .