Sculpture is one of the most versatile of contemporary artistic mediums while having one of the strongest traditional historical backgrounds.  Our courses aim to balance these two aspects of sculpture while providing students with fundamental skills of the trade including casting, throwing and hand building forms. 

Summer Courses

Sculpting the Human Form

Sculpting in clay directly from the nude life model, this hands-on course is designed to broaden your observation skills and teach you hand-building techniques. Considering the qualities of form and exploring ways to convey body mass and proportions, you will develop an understanding of how to accurately render the human form three dimensionally. You will receive instruction both as a group and individually, working towards completing a piece of sculpture that will be fired and ready for collection at the end of the summer programme. This class is suitable for beginners as well as more experienced sculptors who would like to try new approaches or experiment with technique, scale and context.

Sculpture: Pewter Casting Workshop

The aim of this course is to take students through the process involved in casting a piece of work into pewter. This involves modelling up a small sculptural object, designing a mould for a low melt alloy, casting the metal into the mould and finally finishing the piece of work. Due to the cost of materials, size and scale are limited to 10cm. There may be additional material costs if work exceeds this. This course is suitable for a range of students from beginners to those wishing to improve their skills.

The Sculpted Head

This workshop will show you how to model a clay head while working directly from the life model. Considering the qualities of form and exploring ways to convey mass and proportions, you will develop an understanding of how to accurately render the human head three dimensionally. You will learn how to use the tools and equipment required for figurative sculpture and receive instruction both as a group and individually, working towards completing one piece of sculpture. Finished heads will be allowed to air dry for a number of weeks before being fired and made ready for collection. The course is suitable for beginners as well as those with previous experience.

Meet Your Alter-Ego:Explorations in Clay

This course is based on revealing and building an extension of the self; a mask of the alter-ego that lives within everyone's own imagination. Starting from the ageold casting technique of taking an impression of the face known as a "death mask" students will pair up and begin getting re-acquainted with their own physical attributes and outer identity. Picture and sculpt your outer identities in order to transform them into a mask that houses your imaginary and alternate personas. From simple casting and molding with mud rock and clay, students will then sculpt, build and extend their masks with chosen personal objects and a variety of media of their choice. This course is suitable for beginners as well as experienced artists who want to develop their skills or try a fresh approach.

Sculpture: Garden of Earthly Delights

During this course you will create a piece of garden or outdoor sculpture. Looking at a range of imagery from historical painting and sculpture, to gargoyles and garden gnomes, you will develop ideas towards a final piece cast in weather resistant concrete. Through practical demonstration, you will be taken through a process from modelling your ideas in clay, to making a mould and casting a final piece. This course is suitable for students of all levels.