Portrait Sculpture (Tuition Free)
Adult Tuition-Free Class | FULL (Membership Required)
This class will focus on creating a life-size clay portrait sculpture head from life. We will work with a female and a male model respectively for a period of five sessions each. Students will gain an understanding of proportions, anatomy, and modeling techniques based on observation. The class will offer demonstrations to illustrate sculpture methodology, as well as individual critiques to assist students in meeting their personal goals. Finished works can either be molded (not provided by Fleisher) or removed from the armature and fired at Fleisher. These options will be explained in more depth during the first class. This is a great opportunity to sculpt from the live model and walk away with a unique piece of portraiture. Everyone is welcome and beginners are encouraged!
What You Will Learn:
- Techniques of observation and modeling in clay
- Methods and materials for additive and reductive sculpting with clay
- Anatomy, structure, and proportions
- Options for finalizing and formalizing figurative sculptures
Firing Schedule: Sculpture students are welcome to fire finished work in our Ceramics Studio. Finished work may not be on an armature and must be bone dry before firing. Therefore, sculpture students are encouraged to bring finished work home at the end of the term and bring it back to campus the following term for firing. Additional questions about firing sculpture works can be directed to Scott Cooper, Studio Technician at scooper@fleisher.org.
Tuition Free classes require an active Fleisher membership.
• 25lbs of earthenware clay is included in your registration - no outside clay is permitted (prolific students may purchase additional clay from Fleisher).
• Modeling tools - including at least one flat tool and one rake tool if possible
• A plastic trash bag
• Rags for wrapping
• Portrait armature - this can be purchased at Blick Art Materials or The Compleat Sculptor.
If you would prefer to build your own, the instructor will provide instructions on how to do so using the following:
- Wood base 14”x14”
- 14” 3/4 BLK Pipe
- 3/4" Floor flange
- Various screws/adjustable hose clamps
Optional supplies:
• Calipers
• 6” long wooden block, i.e. a 2x4 (a persuader)
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Miranda Blas
Miranda Blas is a multi-media Latina artist working primarily in atmospheric-fired ceramics. Her colorful and feminist work disrupts the binary of craft and fine art. Most of Miranda’s work is both sculptural and functional, designed to be used in the home and appreciated as fine art. Inspired by nature, art history, and the earthy experience of being a woman, Miranda’s unique style is sculptural and painterly. Each one-of-a-kind piece is hand sculpted or thrown on the wheel and altered. Then the artist painstakingly glazes her work by brushing on hand-mixed glazes.
Educated as a Plein Air oil painter in the south of France, Miranda’s ceramic work has a vibrant, impressionist quality. After being glazed, the ceramic works are fired in an atmospheric method like raku, pit fire, or wood fire. During the firing, the flames, smoke, and combustibles contribute to a totally unique work of art. Miranda Blas received her undergraduate degree from St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and her MFA from the Leo Marchutz School of Painting and Drawing in Aix-en-Provence, France. She now lives and works in Philadelphia, PA.