Fired Clay Sculpture Classes at Phoenix Fired Art

I'll be teaching a fired clay sculpture class beginning on January 3, 2013. The class will meet Thursday evenings at 6-8:30 PM for a six-week session. Cost is $150 plus the cost of clay. (The $150 tuition includes firing.) The list of tools is simple, most of which can easily be made.

jack-o-lantern spook in wet clay, roughly 9 inches in height

This course is about fired clay sculpture, meaning that we'll have different concerns than sculpting in oil or wax-based clays, plasters, wood, or metal. I'll be primarily concentrating on my own techniques and experience for the class, though we'll touch on a few alternate techniques.

We'll work a lot with the figure in mind, though it's not a required subject matter. Animal and organic forms are also acceptable directions for studies. The main objectives are communicating specific ideas or concepts through fired clay and develop our skillsets. We'll learn to look as well as how to bring ideas we see in our heads into being. In other words, we're going to learn how to communicate our own specific ideas and control the medium, rather than just accepting what happens.

Click here to view the basic class outline for the 6-week session.

I'm packing a lot of information into a relatively short span of time. While the course's focus is fired clay sculpture, I'll also be sharing info about the materials and techniques I use in my commercial sculpting gigs, including those for the toy industry, collectible figurines, custom guitars, architectural ornamentation, and exhibition sandsculpting.
The class size is limited to 8-10 students. There are still a few spaces open in the class, so if you're interested, please call Phoenix Fired Art in Joplin, MO at 417-437-9281. The studios are located at 1603 Main in Joplin.