FIGURE MODEL SCULPTURE COURSE

Contact: 301 633 2858, or 443 764 5364 by cell phone call, or text message, or contact: sculptorBradP@sculptorBradP.com to arrange a visit, or to enroll in a class or open group. Message Board below seems to have issues. Calendar is general information on classes available, days and times vary.

Figure Model Sculpture Course

Course Format

• Taught in four parts

• Each part: 12 weeks, 24 sessions

• Daytime: 5 hours (includes 30–60 min review)

• Evening: 4 hours (includes 30 min review)

• Same life model or figure sculpture pose is used for the full duration

Optional Workshop Time

• Extra free studio time 5 hours day, 4 hours evening each week (without model) to continue work from the instructor’s demonstration sculpture, or class subject plaster

• Scheduled weekly; included in tuition (attendance optional)

• Cannot be rescheduled once times are set

Course Focus

• First half: Bone structure, alignments, major masses, and proportions

• Second half: Surface anatomy, details, and individual character of the model

• Throughout: Study of geometric patterning, commensurate planes, and planar rhythms

• Extended time allows for deeper observation and more fully developed sculpture

Medium

• Three-dimensional figure sculpture in plasteline (non-drying clay)

Learning Goals

• Train the eye to see beyond habit and assumption

• Develop perception of related shapes in three dimensions

• Build the skills to construct aesthetic, articulated sculptural form

Tuition

• $2,136.00 per 12-week segment (24 classes, twice per week)

• Options available for once-a-week classes and private instruction (Day or Evening)

COURSE OBJECTIVES:          

                                                                

To develop perception of patterned shape

To develop the ability to take angles and proportions

To understand glyptek shape as it describes form

To develop turning rythems  to create an effective composition

To develop visual scale from life to the sculpture

To understand commensurate planes

To learn basic, to intermediate anatomy

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

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Course Overview

This course is designed for students of sculpture, painting, and drawing who want to deepen their understanding of the human figure.

What You’ll Learn

• Study of anatomy, balance, symmetry and asymmetry

• Running rhythms and natural geometric shape types

• Shape projection: learning to see three-dimensionally from one viewpoint

• Commensurate planes and the relationships between large and small forms

• How shadows reveal, rather than obscure, form

• Structural anatomy with emphasis on weight, mass, and proportion

The instructor will demonstrate how large shapes are echoed in smaller forms throughout the head and figure, showing how this interconnection creates a sense of function and movement. Students will learn to build figures on a foundation of large masses before refining details, leading to more natural, unified, and articulate work. This process helps prevent oversimplified, disjointed, or cartoon-like results. Over time, students will develop the ability to achieve an individual style by choice rather than accident.

Unique Resources
Students will also have access to a rare collection of teaching materials, including:

• Anatomical models, male and female skeletons (early 20th-century German casts from life)

• A four-level painted plaster head/neck dissection series

• A painted plaster torso and various anatomical models at multiple scales

• Full-body dissection casts from New York City

• European antique plaster casts of Classical sculpture and anatomical figures

Artistic Context
Classes in both sculpture and drawing explore what defines each discipline, blending theory with practice. Instruction draws from the traditions of Greek Classical, Hellenistic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neo-Classical, and Neo-Hellenistic art, offering students both historical grounding and practical application.

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Sculpture Armature will be built in a class previous to the first weeks class with the model. A complete supply list is available for the Sculpture Armature and Sculpture Tools for enrolled students. Classes are limited to 10 students.

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Parking is free, there is plenty of space available for the model and students to park on the Square, as well as additional parking behind the townhouse in a private parking area.
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More advanced classes available.

Private Sculpture Studio, Drawing & Sculpture Classes, By Appointment – Open Drawing & Sculpture Group Sessions, Commissioned Portrait Bust Sculpture, Fountain Sculpture, Figure Sculpture, & Relief Sculpture Compositions. Private Gallery of exhibited sculpture, by appointment only.

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