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The 14-foot-tall, 8-foot-wide, 8-foot-deep sculpture, called the "Hat Maker," pays tribute to Danbury's hatting industry. About 100 people, including Boyajian, recently attended the unveiling ceremony of the statue at Danbury City Hall.
Boyajian is an artist, art instructor and owner of David Boyajian Sculpture Studio in New Fairfield. He also teaches drawing and design at Norwalk Community College and Western Connecticut State University.
Aside from Danbury's City Hall, Boyajian's work is currently on exhibition at Bethel Town Hall, at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, N.Y., and at the 9/11 Living Memorial at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport.
In a recent interview at his 3,000-square-foot studio, he said he is most inspired by nature. "Nature is what I gravitate toward.There is an endless abundance and combination of imagery in nature," he said.
"There is always a dynamic story narrative. Nature is all about regeneration, growth and survival. It's always present and its consistent."
Boyajian studied at Alfred University and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and earned his master's of fine arts from the Maryland Institute Rinehart School of Sculpture. He apprenticed for sculptors Wolfgang Behl, Elbert Weinberg and Andrew Coppola.
He believes natural observation is important. "All of what da Vinci created was based on natural observation. You need to have a fluid environment. There is a really strong balance between the industrial and the organic. I like to cross over between these two," Boyajian said.
He said his work never turns out the way the way he first thinks of it. "You can have a preconceived thought or design but things change when you're working on them," Boyajian said. "That is a good thing.
"Preconceived thoughts are starting points. They're not completed through investigations. When you start working with the material and putting ideas and concepts together, than things can change. You go from a two-dimensional into a three-dimensional."
When he's not sculpting, Boyajian enjoys drawing landscapes on the Housatonic River.
"The Housatonic River is only a 15- to 20-minute ride and you are out in the middle of nature," he said. "The Housatonic River is a big part of why I'm living here. It's very relaxing. I go there once a week. I'm constantly engaged in making art."
To read a Daily Voice article on David Boyajian's Hat Maker statue, click here. For more information on Boyajian or to sign up for one of his classes, click here.
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