BEGINNING SCULPTURE PORTRAIT BUST COURSE

Beginning Sculpture Portrait Bust Course

Course Structure
This course is taught in two segments. Each segment runs for 12 weeks, meeting twice per week:

• Day classes: 24 sessions, 5 hours each
• Evening classes: 24 sessions, 4 hours each

Students work from the same life model or antique plaster bust for the duration. Each session includes a review period:

• Day: 30–60 minutes
• Evening: 30 minutes

Optional studio workshop time 5 hours day, 4 hours evening a week (without the model) is available to continue work from the instructor’s demonstration sculpture. Workshop times are coordinated in advance and included in tuition, but attendance is not required and rescheduling is not possible.

Tuition

• Day classes (12 weeks / 24 sessions): $2,136.00
• Evening classes (12 weeks / 24 sessions): $2,136.00
• Other options: once-a-week schedule or private individual lessons (Day/Evening)

Course Focus
Students begin by blocking in major shapes and rhythms, identifying bone landmarks, and modeling key muscle groups. From this foundation, you will work toward capturing both the likeness and character of the model. Emphasis is placed on:

• Pattern recognition of shape
• Angles and proportions
• Turning rhythms and composition
• Visual scale and commensurate planes
• Basic anatomy and structural form

All work is done in plasteline clay (non-drying). The study develops the ability to see and construct three-dimensional form, encouraging work that is natural, integrated, and structurally sound—avoiding oversimplification or cartoon-like qualities.

A. Gilmore Flues, sculpted from life by P. Brad Parker; plaster cast from clay; subject of portrait served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Eisenhower Administration

• Armature Preparation

  • Materials & Armature Prep

    Choose one

    • Option A — Build your own:
      Build an armature before classes begin. A free armature-building workshop is included for students enrolled in the first 12-week session.

    • Option B — Use a loaner (limited):
      Loaners are for in-studio use only and must remain in the studio. If you use a loaner, you agree to replace the aluminum alloy wire and one stainless-steel pipe fitting (Tee or 4-way Cross) at the end of your enrollment.

    You may keep a self-built armature and/or use it for making a plaster cast.

    What to supply – Option A — Build your own:

    Plywood base (bring finished to the workshop)

    • Laminate two 18″ × 18″ × 3/4″ A/C exterior fir plywood panels with wood glue.

    • • While immediately after the two boards are together, curing, pin aligned boards flush together with ~20 resin-coated brads (≈1–1/8 to 1¼” long); countersink so no heads or points are exposed on the board surface.

      • Suggested layout: 16 around the perimeter (2″ in from edges) and 4 midway to center.

    • • Round all edges/corners with sandpaper – easier using a sandpaper holder rubber block and after seal all sides with 4–5 coats of polyurethane until smooth and fully sealed, should feel like a plastic coating.

    Hardware & wire (see full supply list)

    • Stainless-steel plumbing pipe and fittings (including one Tee or 4-way Cross)

    • Stainless-steel machine bolts

    • Aluminum sculpture wire (specified gauges/lengths)

    Bring to the free workshop: finished plywood base, stainless-steel pipe/fittings, aluminum wire, and stainless-steel bolts.
    A detailed supply list is provided upon enrollment.

    Materials: Sculpture Tools

    • Loaner tools (in-class only):
      A minimal set is provided for use during class sessions and must remain in the studio for the duration of the course.

    • Basic personal tools:
      A supply list of core tools (many with an ~1-year lifespan) will be provided. Plan to replace these as they wear out.

    • Optional: make your own tools:
      During designated workshop time, you may craft personal tools. This requires purchasing Lignum Vitae (or approved hardwood) and access to a table saw, band saw, and metal files (rat-tail and half-round).

    • Chavant NSP (Non-Sulfur, soft or medium hardness Brown) or Chavant Le Beau Touche HM (High Melt) clay.
  • Studio provides: wheeled sculpture stands, limited loaner armatures (with replacement parts required). Limited loaner sculpture tools on loan only in class

Resources & Instruction
Students benefit from access to an extensive teaching collection, including:

• Anatomical models and full skeletons (European, early 20th-century)
• Painted plaster dissections of head, neck, and torso
• Antique European plaster casts
• Full-figure anatomical plasters

Instruction emphasizes anatomy, rhythm, balance, symmetry, and the relationship of large masses to small details. Shadows are taught as a tool for understanding form. Influences include Greek Classical, Hellenistic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Neo-Classical traditions.

Additional Information

• Class size is limited to 10 students.
• Free parking available on the square and in a private lot behind the studio.
• Advanced classes and private instruction are also available.

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