I want to tell anyone from anywhere, You can do anything you want to do.
~ Desmond Blair
By Ginger Brashinger
are no obstacles. For no one is that more true than
I
for Desmond Blair, a young man who embraced the irony of his life’s passion—to be an artist despite the fact that he was born without hands. “I’ve always had a fascination
with cartoons,” Desmond notes. But, that fascination wasn’t just with watching, even at the age of three. “I wanted to know how they took
a static image and made it move.” Shy and self-conscious outside of
his family circle, Desmond was con- stantly encouraged by his mother, Joyce, and his grandmother, Leila, with whom he has lived in the Dallas, Texas area for all of his 23 years. Joyce Blair, a single mother, subtly
worked on building her son’s confi- dence and character, reminding him often to take his arms out of his pockets when he would hide them, conscious of his physical difference. “Just be yourself,” she would tell
him. And, Grandmother Leila saw
what being himself meant for Desmond, encouraging his love of
f a passion is truly a passion, then it’s always in the driver’s seat. There is no choice. There
coloring, tracing, and drawing. “She would make me redo what-
ever I colored on a page, over and over until I colored within the lines,” Desmond remembers. “By the age of four, I had it down.” And, Desmond Blair has never
looked back. With the encourage- ment of people who believed in him, from Miss Prince who “chan- neled” his talent in third grade, to his middle school art teachers, Miss Henry and Mr. Sledge, Blair found his style as an artist and animator. Using his arms, rather than prosthet- ics, the artist inside him prevailed. He acknowledges challenges on
his way to undergraduate and graduate degrees in art and tech- nology, but as one of his mentors put it, he always “manages to do it and do it well.” Blair currently teaches an intro-
ductory class in 3D computer mod- eling at the University of Texas at Dallas, his alma mater, as well as completing an internship at the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Chil- dren. Giving back to an institution which has been like a second home for him, a place where he was given ongoing care and ther- apy throughout his life, Desmond teaches and inspires other children with disabilities.
“When the parents of my students
talk to me,” Desmond said, “it kind of puts them at ease about the scope of capability of their child.” A role model as well as an inspira-
tion, Desmond Blair is on the verge of the rest of his life. As a recent graduate, he’s now putting his shy self out there, looking for a job to fulfill his passion. “My focus shifted in grad school,”
Blair said, revealing flexibility un- usual in one so young. Not only did he become aware of his limitations, but he used that knowledge to find a way to fit into the industry he loves. “If one thing doesn’t work for me,
let me do what does work,” Blair said. For Desmond Blair, what “does
work” is moving from 2D to 3D, the wave of the future—a timely move. His personal future? A graphic novel. “I think I have a really interesting
story to tell,” Blair, said, stating what is obvious to others. “I have a ton of stories, a ton of characters and the sub context of my stories will be for people born with disabilities. I want to tell anyone from anywhere, ‘You can do anything you want to do.’”
www.blairmediadigital.com
ADistinctive style 79
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