Robert Sabuda

Meet the Artist - Robert Sabuda

Dorothy knew she wasn't in Kansas anymore when she and her little dog Toto arrived in Oz. Similarly, artist and pop-up book creator Robert Sabuda is no longer in rural Pinckney, Michigan; his hometown. Sabuda has traded the dusty Michigan road for his chosen path to the upper west side of Manhattan. Parallels exist between Sabuda's life and that of Dorothy, the main character of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, even beyond the experience of childhoods spent in rural middle America. Most importantly, both Sabuda and Dorothy had fantastic dreams that came true.

Although his family lacked monetary resources, Sabuda (born 1965) never
lacked inspiration. His life in tiny Pinckney, Michigan provided a sound, if unlikely, foundation for his future vocation. The artist's father was a mason and a carpenter who demonstrated the art of constructing a three-dimensional structure with meticulous precision, never realizing how his son would benefit. Sabuda's mother gave her son discarded manila file folders from Ford Motor Company, where she worked as a secretary. The old file folders were perfect for use in art projects such as pop-up cards and books. His mother also ran a dance studio, teaching her offspring the proper movement, rhythm, and sequencing of a dance routine, as well as the value of drama and balance

From these experiences and more, Sabuda's books trace their beginnings.
One particularly life-changing event in Sabuda's childhood occurred at
the dentist's office. His mother suggested that they read a book in
order to allay his fears of the dreaded dental drill. The books in the
waiting room turned out to be pop-up books, and that discovery marked
the birth of Sabuda's passion for movable books.

From that time on, friends and family gave the boy pop-up books for every occasion. He began a quest to design his own movable books; his parents owned the first original Robert Sabuda pop-up book, created when he was eight years old.

Soon he made pop-up cards for his sister, brother, friends, and teachers. Sabuda fondly remembers some of his favorite books as a youth: Frog and Toad, by Arnold Loebel, Flat Stanley written by Jeff Brown and illustrated by Tomi Ungerer, and Clifford: The Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell. The young artist developed an interest in history and particularly enjoyed Jean Fritz's books for young people. Pinckney did not have a bookstore, but Sabuda delighted in ordering books offered by The Weekly Reader. At the public library, the boy discovered a how-to book on making marionettes, a helpful prelude to pop-up book making. Art and books filled his life.

Drama was also important to the budding artist. The boy loved both The Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum, and its movie version. When he was in the fourth grade, Sabuda wrote, produced, directed, and starred in his own production of The Wizard of Oz. The boy portrayed his favorite character, the Scarecrow, whose role was immensely magnified by the play's youthful adaptor! Perhaps it was about that time that the future artist first attempted a movable book version of Oz.

Sabuda was encouraged to draw and create by his teachers and his
family. The boy pleased his teachers through his creation of imaginative
bulletin boards. High school offered still more opportunities, when his
art teacher, who was also his mentor, emphatically stated that Sabuda
would go to Pratt in Brooklyn, New York. His teacher's encouragement,
his abundant talent, and his relentless drive to create, led Sabuda to
pursue and earn, as a scholarship student, a B.F.A. in communications
design from Pratt Institute in 1987.

The artist began his career in picture book art primarily as a linoleum
block printmaker. Since the early books, however, he has varied his
style and employed innovative media. Books that showcase Sabuda's
versatility and give his so-called flat art books surprise elements include
Tutankhamen's Gift (1994), cut-paper and paint on papyrus; Arthur and
the Sword (1995), liquid lead and glass dyes on Plexiglas; The Paper
Dragon (1997), by Marguerite W. Davol, painted tissue paper cut in
Chinese style and displayed on gatefold pages; and Blizzard's Robe (1999),
brilliantly colored batik.

Sabuda never wants his books to be easily identifiable as his
work-although the pop-ups are unmistakably his, due to their complexity and perfection. In fact, Sabuda is widely regarded as the wizard of pop-up
engineering. His first published pop-up was The Christmas Alphabet
(1994), followed later by The12 Days of Christmas (1996), both of which have become best-selling holiday classics. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: A
Commemorative Pop-Up (2000) has been considered his masterpiece. Its
linoleum-block print medium adheres to the style of the original W.W.
Denslow illustrations, yet the intense visual power of the pop-up is all
Sabuda's.

These days, Sabuda's yellow brick road leads him to his studio in
Manhattan. There with his partner, Matthew Reinhart, Sabuda works
diligently on his movable books and other book illustrations. Frequent trips
abroad to oversee the production of the pop-ups, in addition to
work-related conferences and appearances, further occupy Sabuda. He also works out at a gym almost daily, and practices yoga, as well as meditation.
Far from Pinckney, Michigan, the pop-up engineer and artist has not
left his childhood completely behind. Each time he engineers one of his
three-dimensional books, Robert Sabuda endeavors to pass along the sense
of wonder and amazement he felt the first time he opened a pop-up book.

Biography (from B&N)

Pop-up books are true oddities of children's publishing. They are charmingly quaint and old-fashioned, yet eternally popular. They've been around for ages, but precious few creative souls set out to become pop-up artists. This, however, is not the case with Robert Sabuda, who seems to have been born to make pop-up books.

Sabuda made his first step toward becoming one of the most ingenious pop-up artists in contemporary publishing as a very young child. He grew up in a household where books were held in the highest regard and reading was always encouraged. He has fond memories of being read to by his mother when he was a little boy. Sabuda's first encounter with a pop-up book occurred in a dentist office. Anxious about his appointment, young Robert's mother read a pop-up book with him to take his mind off the dentist's chair. He was instantly hooked.

Sabuda's background as a gifted artist also played a key role in his future career. As a kid, he was fortunate enough to be encouraged in his artistic pursuits by his teachers and his parents, his father being a mason and carpenter. He inherited from his dad a lifelong fascination with construction and avidly studied the pop-up books he received as gifts to find out what made them work. Imaginative and curious, he even made his own pop-ups out of discarded manila envelopes his mom brought home from her office.

This childhood hobby would prove invaluable, as an older Sabuda set out on a career in children's books. He got his start as a journeyman illustrator working with such writers as Eugene Bradley Coco (The Fiddler's Son; Wishing Well) and Jay Patrick Lewis (Earth Verses and Water Rhymes). He even worked on adaptations of Walt Whitman classics geared toward young readers.

Sabuda's first solo effort was Saint Valentine (1992), a retelling of the ancient tale of a humble Roman physician who brings about a miracle. The focal point of this charmingly simple story is Sabuda's illustrations, a series of intricate, exquisite mosaics made of marbleized and hand-painted paper that simulate the look of early Christian art. Proof of a craftsmanship rarely seen in children's books, Saint Valentine and its sequel, Tutankhamen's Gift, revealed the illustrator's uncanny talent for creating unconventional art.

In 1994, Sabuda discovered his niche with The Christmas Alphabet, a seasonal delight filled with eye-catching pop-ups and crafted with an elegance as appealing to adults as to children. The Christmas Alphabet was the first in a long line of remarkable paper-engineered wonders covering a wide range of subject matter. He would adapt famous tales (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; Alice's Adventures in Wonderland), tackle contemporary issues (the Help the Animals series), and tell completely original stories (Winter's Tale).

Some of Sabuda's finest work has been done in collaboration with his partner and good friend Matthew Reinhart. Between them, these two pop-up geniuses have produced stunning work, including two wonderful science-oriented series, the Young Naturalist's Pop-up Handbook and the Encyclopedia Prehistorica. And although each has become increasingly involved in independent projects, they continue to influence each other in subtle and dramatic ways.

In explaining the attraction of the pop-up genre to today's technologically savvy kids, Sabuda says,. "I think [kids] are drawn to pop-up books because so much in their world today to them seems like magic, electronically," Sabuda told Barnes & Noble.com. "So, when they see one of my pop-ups books and they open it, they're amazed that it's occurring just by turning the page... that there's no electronics or bells or whistles to make that happen. I know that just from a creative part, they love seeing that magic occur."

Good to Know

As a boy, Sabuda took tap lessons at a local dance school, where he also furthered his artistic abilities by designing backdrops.

Shortly after graduating from Pratt Institute in New York City, Sabuda made ends meet by designing boxes for women's underwear.

Sabuda's first work in children's publishing was as an illustrator of coloring books, which books based on such popular movie characters as the very non-kid-friendly Rambo.

Sabuda shared some fun facts about himself in our interview:

"My first job was as a hardware stock boy and I LOVED it. To this day, when someone says 'Home Depot,' I start salivating like Pavlov's dog."

"I'm inspired to create the work that I do because I really don't know how to do anything else. Besides it's a bit of a curse, too. I always have so many ideas that I feel like I'll never get to them all."

"I don't know how to drive a car and have no desire to learn."

"My partner (author/illustrator) Matthew Reinhart and I just got an 1830's farmhouse in up state New York. Having it renovated has been a great project. It's like working on a huge pop-up that you can live in."

"To unwind, I do yoga, but my practice is pretty average. But I can do a headstand, away from the wall, which for me is a really big deal!"

Feature Interview

In the winter of 2005, Robert Sabuda took some time out to answer some of our questions:

What was the book that most influenced your life or your career?
Since so much of my current work is 3-dimensional, I will say Cinderella by Prague paper engineer Voitech Kubasta. Of course, as a child, I had seen pop-up books, but most of them were humorous or cartoony, and intended for a very young audience. Kubasta's Cinderella was the first paper movable book I saw that had pictures that were more like art than illustrations. I remember going through that book so slowly and carefully, poring over every detail.

What are your ten favorite books, and what makes them special to you?

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