Special Workshops
We run special workshops throughout the year, including: Winter and Summer Holiday Schools, Sculpture in a Day Courses, as well as one off workshops with visiting artists.
If you have any questions or are an Artist and would like to propose a workshop, please contact the Studio.
Intensive 5 Day Marble Carving Workshop with special guest teacher Usama Alnassar – April
Sunday 13 April – Thursday 17 April
9:30am – 4:30pm
Fees: $1,150.30
Due to popular demand, Usama Alnassar will be back teaching a 5 Day Marble Carving Workshop this April. Don’t miss out!
You will learn to use traditional hand-tools and techniques for carving, including methods of transferring ideas onto a piece of marble and finding form within the stone. Participants will work directly on the famous White Statuario Marble from Carrara to acquire basic skills and to understand the nature of the material.
Fees include one piece of marble, tuition, use of tools and GST.
About Alnassar: Special Guest teacher Alnassar was born in Syria. He lives and works in Carrara, Italy among the white Michelangelo marble quarries, where he teaches sculpture courses and works on small and monumental sculptures. His works have been shown in individual and group exhibitions internationally. Visit Alnassar’s website here.
Please note, these Workshops are open to any skill level, but carving marble for 5 days, will be physically straining and tiring.
9:30 am – 4:30 pm
3 Week Stone Carving with Elena Murgia – Monday EVE (April / May)
Mondays: 28 April – 12 May (3 weeks)
6pm – 9pm
$215.30 (Earlybird)
$240.30 (General)
This brief course will help students undertake the basic techniques of carving. Learn how to remove step by step the material that is surrounding a sculpture, starting from unveiling the basic volumes connected together in harmonious composition and the beginnings of the finishing process where time permits.
Carving is a magical process that pursues the soothing of the soul and detaches ourselves from the modern chaotic life. It’s a way to connect to nature and it informs a sense of space, training the eye and the mind to see in depth!
Alabaster stone will be available to purchase at an additional cost to the course fee. Elena will have a good selection of stones to choose from which are best suited for this 3 week course.
Students are also welcome to bring work in progress stone sculptures, including marble works you may be currently working on. Elena can guide you in the next steps of your stone carvings.
About Elena:
Elena Murgia is an Italian born artist. After studying ceramics in London, her sculpting journey started at the Tom Bass Sculpture Studio School in 2017.
She undertook marble carving classes under the guidance of Usama Alnassar who continues to mentor her. Elena has also been mentored and trained by TBSSS teacher Wendy Black, whom Elena continues to assist on a Wednesday during term time.
Elena participates in national prizes and group exhibitions around the country and had her first solo exhibition in December 2023 at the Clara Street Gallery showcasing works in marble, alabaster, bronze and porcelain.
Through her sculpture she explores the dichotomy between quality and image, inner beauty and the masks we wear to conform to the world, responding to both feminine and the feminist, her past and her present.
*Early bird discount ends midnight 7 April.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Working from Life: Portrait Study with Wendy Black
Tuesdays: 27 May – 24 June (5 weeks), 10am – 4pm
$580.30 (Earlybird)
$640.30 (General)
The life study was the foundation of Tom Bass’ teaching. He maintained that it was an invaluable class and was the best way to learn about sculptural forms and structure of the human body.
This course will be an intensive head study based on close observation of the forms, proportion and relevant anatomy. Students will be asked to observe closely and work quickly so that they are relying on their observational skills not on what they think they know of a head. It is surprising what can be achieved working in this way. Students will develop a greater understanding, as well as skills in drawing in 3D, modelling in clay, as well as mould making and casting in plaster.
We will work from a seated model for two days, the remainder of the time will be spent preparing to mould and casting the portrait study together.
*Early Bird discount ends 6 May.
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
¾ Life-size Torso Sculpture Workshop with Georgina Mills
Monday 7 July – Friday 11 July
Mon – Thu:10am – 2pm, Fri: 10am – 3pm
Fees: $790.30
This is an intensive workshop that aims at improving student’s observational skills, sculpture techniques and knowledge of human anatomy and form. This course is specifically designed to introduce students to sculptural methods that help simplify the complexities of the human figure.
Over the course students will sculpt from life a ¾ life-size torso with water-based clay. Group lessons and daily individual critiques will help to guide them through this process. Students will then prepare their sculpture to kiln fired locally at their convenience. Students are to be aware that the kiln firing process can be unpredictable in results and the main goal of the workshop is learning how to improve their sculpting from life skills.
Only 8 places available for this special workshop.
About Georgina Mills:
Georgina is sculptor whose practice explores the human condition through the representation of the figure. She has trained in contemporary sculpture locally at the Adelaide College of the Arts and Figurative Sculpture, internationally at The Florence Academy of Art, Italy. At The FAA Georgina was awarded winter and spring scholarships (2017), Outstanding Performance in Écorché Sculpture (2017), Best Écorché Sculpture (2018) and the Forth Year Sculpture Residency (2019). Upon which she then became the assistant teacher in the Écorché for the 2019-20 academic year.
Her work was been exhibited locally, nationally and internationally and resides in collections over the world. Some of Georgina’s proudest exhibitions of to date include European Museum of Modern Art; Barcelona (2019); Florence Academy of Art Faculty Show, Florence (2019); Tom Bass Prize, Sydney (2020, 2022); Sheltering with Art, Florence Academy of Art Faculty Exhibition, Online (2020); The Main gallery, Adelaide (2021); The David Roche Foundation House Museum, Adelaide (2022) and as an online finalist in the Arts Renewal Centre Salon, America, 2019.
10:00 am – 2:00 pm
From Wax to Bronze: 2 Day Wax Workshop with Michael Vaynman
Sat 12 & Sun 13 July 2025
Bookings open Wednesday 5 March at 10am.
Fees: $490.30
Wax is a wonderful medium and has many unique properties that make it ideal for sculpting. Wax can be used as a liquid, as a paste, warm (like plasticine), or cold (carvable). During this workshop students will be shown various techniques to utilize these variable states of the medium. Students will be shown how to construct a wax armature, explore modelling techniques and the use of tools for smoothing and texturing. Students will have the opportunity (at an additional cost*) to have their finished wax sculptures cast in bronze by Michael, using the lost wax casting process.
*Bronze casting will be provided at a significant discount to students who wish to cast their work. However prices will need to be looked at on a case by case basis after the workshop concludes as it is impossible to predict the size and complexity of individual artworks before they are made.
About Michael:
Michael has worked as a professional artist since 2001, specialising in figurative and abstract bronze and stainless steel sculpture. The notion of beauty is a strong component of Michael’s contemporary art practice and each artwork strives to develop the aesthetic perfection of line and form within the context of the human experience. Over the years Michael has produced several private and public commissions and his sculptures can be seen in the film Mao’s Last Dancer (2008)
Currently Michael is on a path to explore the notion of the Sublime through the lens of sculpture with works like ‘Hope’, ‘Creation of Man’, and ‘Up, Up & Away’.
This workshop will be open for booking from Wednesday 5 March at 10am.
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Alabaster Carving with Carol Crawford
Sat 19 & Sun 20 July, 2025
Fees: see below for details
A unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the world of alabaster carving and learn from popular guest teacher Carol Crawford.
Carol is a specialist alabaster sculptor who interprets the raw stone to create soft, interlocking organic forms. Carol will be assisted by artist Elena Murgia, who is a specialist stone carver. For this weekend course Carol and Elena will guide you on the use of different hand tools, finishing/ polishing techniques, and how to realise a beautiful soft abstracted form out of the rough stone you have chosen.
Alabaster is a very fine, stable, sometimes translucent stone that can be easily carved. For this workshop you will be working with beautiful white alabaster (translucent and opaque) shipped all the way from Italy.
This is a workshop not to be missed! Places are strictly limited and early bookings are encouraged for this popular course.
* Please note that this course will give participants a good foundation to create a unique alabaster sculpture. As each person works at an individual pace, some people may find they need a bit more time to complete their sculpture and this can be done by booking in for some casual workshop classes during term time at TBSSS.
Fees: there are two price options. You can choose either:
– $540.30, which includes workshop fees and one piece of stone up to 2kg
– $490.30, includes workshop fee only and you can purchase any size stone at a special rate of $35 per kilo (normal price is $45 per kg).
Each participant will be required to start a new sculpture for this special workshop to experience Carol’s unique interpretation.
Visit Carol’s website: www.carolcrawfordsculpture.net or her instagram account _carolcrawford_ .
This workshop is now fully booked. Please email admin@tbsss.org.au, if you would like to be added to the waitlist.
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
