In a world leaning towards the virtual and on-line, there is a need for artists to come together to share their experiences of using tangible materials. The knowledge of the body and use of ‘haptic’ skills are being lost and now is the time for reconnecting with these materials in order to re connect with ourselves, each other and with the environment we live in.
Ceramic sculptor Sharon Griffin aims to use her work to express how we can connect with ourselves and each other using clay as a tool of experiencing the body. Within this short course, Sharon will demonstrate her knowledge of working with clay as an expressive material, one which will release the innate stories of the maker, acting as a mirror to the artist.
Sharon explains that...’ the clay acts as a mirror to our own experiences. Learning how to listen to the clay helps us have a truer understanding of ourselves... we can tell all of our secrets to the clay. It is our truest friend!'
The course content
You will learn to let go of preconceived ideas of what a sculpture ‘should’ be through a series of fast and furious making techniques. Gestural mark-making using found clays, slips and oxides taken from the local landscape will enable you to truly find your freedom and capture expression within the clay material.
Using a combination of found objects and resources such as images, reference photos and books, you will have fun exploring and making a series of playful clay faces and bodies. These playful experiments will provide more in-depth opportunities to explore surfaces and patterns within a unique piece or series of works made within the course.
Sharon will guide you in your personal journey of studying the human form and face to create a unique sculpture, one which explores 3 D formal elements such as weight, shape, form, composition, and texture; all of which will help you tell a story.
We will visit Rome and explore the work of the ancient Greeks, drawing inspiration from the ancients and stories told through artefacts and sculptures. Sketching, photographing, and journaling will help inform your own ideas, not just within the course, but in your future developments as an artist if you so desire.
At the end of the course, you will have the opportunity to take home a unique hand-built sculpture which is individual to you. It may need to be sent out at a later date and can be negotiated as your work develops. You will have learned about the processes of clay, where to dig it, sieve it and use it to create your own piece of work- expressing your own unique story.
Drawing, sketches, and experiments within clay are used to capture feeling and express emotion, captivating your audience with a shared human experience.
Through taking part in this course, Sharon Griffin hopes that you will come away from it with a renewed sense of connectivity, one which connects you to history, the people around you and the landscape you live in.
Aims: How to capture expression and emotion using clay within figurative sculpture
Objectives: At the end of the course you will
Be inspired by and understand how shape, form and composition can help to tell a story
Techniques we will cover:
Participants in the workshop will be housed in the remarkably well-preserved Umbrian hill town of Monte Castello di Vibio. Your workshop package is all-inclusive, providing welcome and departure services and airport transfer from the Rome Fiumicino, Leonardo Da Vinci Airport (FCO). Aboard our comfortable private bus, single occupancy accommodations with shared bath (a wide range of upgrades with private bath are available), 3 meals per day Monday-Thursday, Prosecco brunch and dinner on Saturday and Sunday (no meals are served on Friday, our excursion day. Your workshop includes one excursion per week and many additional options are available on weekends for an additional fee. Of course, 24/7 access to facilities and 24/7 bi-lingual support are provided.
This course is suitable for beginners, intermediate and advanced levels but some knowledge of clay is beneficial. Please do feel free to bring sketchbooks and previous drawings to work from but this is not a necessity. For more details, please contact Sharon Griffin at the ICA
Unlock your imagination and develop coil-building and figure modeling skills in this two week human and animal hybrid ceramic sculpture workshop. Much of ancient Italian art is rich in mythological creatures and transformation that continue to speak to us, often on a visceral level. During this course, we’ll delve into the stories behind some of these beings, and create contemporary interpretations and invent new amalgamations that possess compelling personal narratives.
Through live demonstrations, slide presentations, and time lapsed videos, Adrian will impart a wealth of technical information based on 40 years of working with clay. Human and animal anatomy will be covered, with special attention to heads and faces. We will create medium size pieces, approx. 18” tall; the techniques covered will be useful for building large scale sculpture in the future. This includes sectioning, internal supports and the use of a base and rod for tall sculptures. In addition, we’ll make small sprig molds for surface texture and embellishment. Presentations on contemporary ceramic sculpture, as well as mythology will also be shown as time allows. Each Friday we’ll venture out of the studio to nearby sites, cities and museums for a full-immersion experience.
*Participants are encouraged to take good documenting photos of the process of building their piece and the final sculpture. Arrangements can be made to have work fired after the workshop. Packing and shipping will be at participants expense.
Participants will be housed in the remarkably well-preserved Umbrian hill town of Monte Castello di Vibio. Your workshop package is all-inclusive, providing welcome and departure services and airport transfer from the Rome Fiumicino, Leonardo Da Vinci Airport (FCO). Aboard our comfortable private bus, single occupancy accommodations with shared bath (a wide range of upgrades with private bath are available), 3 meals per day Monday-Thursday, Prosecco brunch and dinner on Saturday and Sunday (no meals are served on Friday, our excursion day. Your workshop includes one excursion per week and many additional options are available on weekends for an additional fee. Of course, 24/7 access to facilities and 24/7 bi-lingual support are provided.
The class will focus on what are perhaps the two most expressive parts of the body: the head and hand. In this two-week workshop, students will learn various techniques to create a series of life-sized bust and hands. Both hollow and solid construction methods will be taught as we work from a live model. Participants will gain understanding of the underling anatomical structures that allow these body parts to be so communicative while learning new techniques to achieve life-like sculptures with clay.
With this objective in mind, it is appropriate that the class should take place in one of the great centers of world sculpture! Indeed, through drawing sessions at the Medici Chapel and Academia Museum in Florence and the Vatican Museum in Rome, students will have the direct influence of the masters!
The class will start with a clay skull and add layers of muscle, culminating in a solid finished bust that will be hollowed out. This will allow us to learn about each muscle and its function in creating expression. Various techniques to hair, eyes, and ears will be covered, as well how to utilize the rules for proportion in your own work.
Students will also learn my hollow construction method used for creating instinctive, fast, and stable forms. Numerous presentations, discussions, and demonstrations will cover topics such as: conceptual considerations, how to measure models for reference work, professional development, impactful contemporary figurative artist, portfolio strategies, and any other topics that students might be interested in. Students will have an opportunity to exhibit their work at the end of the workshop. Open to all skill levels.
Participants will be housed in the remarkably well-preserved Umbrian hill town of Monte Castello di Vibio. Your workshop package is all-inclusive, providing welcome and departure services and airport transfer from the Rome Fiumicino, Leonardo Da Vinci Airport (FCO). Aboard our comfortable private bus, single occupancy accommodations with shared bath (a wide range of upgrades with private bath are available), 3 meals per day Monday-Thursday, Prosecco brunch and dinner on Saturday and Sunday (no meals are served on Friday, our excursion day. Your workshop includes one excursion per week and many additional options are available on weekends for an additional fee. Of course, 24/7 access to facilities and 24/7 bi-lingual support are provided.
Materials to bring from home:
Xiem, clay tools recommended, Towel, wire tool, paddle (or flat wood), Water spray bottle, small mirror, fabric tape measure
Working on heavy grade watercolor paper, using ink and watercolor, students will employ geometry, line, shape and form to create 2 non-objective paintings.
We will research designs and interpret them for our various individual projects during the second week. Please feel free to bring your design ideas and other inspirational materials to adapt as well.
As inspiration, we will be looking at historic designs found in art and architecture during our trips to both Florence and Rome.
We will be using a variety of techniques gained from studies in both European and Indian processes (including; color filling, line and design work, burnishing, washing, sanding and waxing),
Students will aim to create a harmonious balance from a mix of structure and improvisation by daily:
Meditation— finding thoughtless awareness through the use of affirmations, self awareness and inner peace.
Yoga— basic Hatha yoga practice allowing the student to slow down, tune into oneself and ones breathing and let the body guide you through simple movements such as Surya Namaskar.
Mindful observation 1— sit in silence drawing an object for three minutes, at the end of this time restart, drawing the same object again. 30 minutes.
Mindful observation 2— using the senses to raise awareness and explore imagination through the use of taste, touch and sound.
The course will be run with the help of Danish artist and assistant Emma Holm.
For more information, contact us.
Working from a model for 4 days we will get a chance to hone in on all the details it takes to capture a likeness. Using clay packed onto a pipe armature, we’ll create a solid bust which we will cut off the armature, hollow and reassemble by the end of the 6th day.
The anatomy of the head, the determining facial muscles, neck and clavicle will be demonstrated. Students will come away with an understanding of proportions and how to create believable details of the face and expression.
All levels are welcomed.
During this 10-day workshop led by Cristina Córdova, students will create a 30” torso through the use of slabs with the support of simple patterns and photographic references. Daily demonstrations will cover the construction and articulation of the hip area and upper torso, arms, hands, head and neck. We will touch on general anatomical concepts and modeling strategies to facilitate accuracy and expression as all the components come together. Surfaces will be developed through the use of slips and underglaze transfers among other approaches. In preparation for this project students will develop some smaller pieces to explore the construction of more abstracted, open compositions that will be fired and glazed. All levels are welcome.
Included in the cost of the class is an excursion to the nearby city of Orvieto in order to see the majestic Duomo there, with its fantastically expressive sculptures decorating the façade. For wine lovers, Orvieto has many extraordinary options available for sampling some of the finest white wines in Italy.
For an additional fee, we will also offer a trip to the village of Deruta in order to explore its Maiolica traditions. We will have an opportunity to visit several studios as well as the ceramics museum, the wonderful Museo Regionale Della Ceramica di Deruta. We will also visit the remarkable church of Madonna del Bagni. Here devotional ceramic plaques that decorate the walls. Each of the plaques was commissioned in commemoration of miraculous healings by the Virgin Mary—the oldest (and first) of the plaques is over 400 years old and commemorates the first miracle healing at the site. From here we will travel on to Assisi in order to visit the Church of San Francesco, one of the most richly decorated church in Christendom. The church contains frescos by Giotto, Cimabue, Lorenzetti and many other early renaissance masters. On the road back to Monte Castello, we will stop for a wine tasting at one of the local vineyards in order to see why our territory is considered the best upcoming wine region in Italy.
Minimum Enrollment: 10
Deposits are due by January 21, 2021 to secure your spot.
For more information, contact us.
