2 Day Wax Workshop with Michael Vaynman
Tom Bass Sculpture Studio School 1A Clara Street, Erskineville, NSWSat 7 & Sun 8 October 2023
$420.30 (Earlybird)
$460.30 (General)
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 at his foundry.
*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 the workshop concludes as it is impossible to predict the size and complexity of individual artworks before they are made.
This workshop is now fully booked. If you would like to join the waitlist, please get in touch admin@tbsss.org.au.
5 Week Limestone Carving Workshop with Paul Hopmeier
Tom Bass Sculpture Studio School 1A Clara Street, Erskineville, NSW9 October - 6 November 2023 (5 weeks)
$480.30 (Earlybird)
$530.30 (General)
Over five Monday evenings, learn the skills needed to carve your own unique sculpture in limestone. Guest teacher Paul Hopmeier is an established sculptor and artist and brings his wealth of knowledge to this popular workshop. Enjoy carving in a group atmosphere, beginners to advanced welcome. Fee includes stone.
*Early Bird discount finishes 25 September.
Intensive Marble Carving Workshops 2024 with special guest teacher Usama Alnassar – 5 & 10 Day Workshops
Tom Bass Sculpture Studio School 1A Clara Street, Erskineville, NSW3 – 27 January 2024
Italy comes to Erskineville in January 2024!
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.
Workshop 1 - 5 Day Marble Carving: Wed 3 - Sun 7 January. FULLY BOOKED. Email: admin@tbsss.org.au to join the waitlist.
Workshop 2 - 10 Day Marble Carving: Wed 10 - Sat 20 January (rest day on 15th). LIMITED PLACES.
Workshop 3 - 5 Day Marble Carving: Tue 23 - Sat 27 January.
Fees: 5 Day Workshop: $1,150
10 Day Workshop: $1,950
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, that these Workshops are open to any skill level, but carving marble for 5 or 10 days, will be physically straining and tiring, especially if it is a warm January. Please think about your physical capabilities before booking into a Workshop.
Term 1 – 2024: Working from the Life Model with Jenny Pollak
Tom Bass Sculpture Studio School 1A Clara Street, Erskineville, NSWSundays: 11 February - 14 April 2024 (9 weeks)
$780.30 (Earlybird)
$865.30 (General)
As a teacher of the life study class at the Tom Bass Sculpture Studio School I am always inspired and excited by the opportunity to encourage students towards developing a truly personal sculptural language.
This class is not focused on the anatomical study of the body, though deep observational skills and an understanding of the anatomy are regarded as essential to the realisation of the finished piece and will often form a part of the discussions held over the course of the nine week term.
Fundamentally, this class is focused on stimulating a deep and considered attention to the human body as one of the most challenging and eloquent subjects for going deeper into one's own process. At the outset, students will be encouraged to think about their intentions and motivations for making their work, with the end goal of developing a unique sculptural voice. This process can include the whole spectrum of artistic expression from realism to abstraction, and I will be encouraging students not to fall back into old habits, but to engage with the figure as a time honoured subject for developing a personal language of artistic expression.
As a teacher, I am happiest when, at the end of the term, I look around the studio and see every piece as a unique expression of the pose, each of them speaking in some way of the maker.
Each student will receive one bag of clay with which to work (you are encouraged to buy more clay if you want to work on a larger scale). The class will consist of six weeks with the one pose (a pose arrived at by a process of rigorous consensus), followed by three weeks in which students will have time to finish their work. We will work without armatures with the intention that the pieces be hollowed out and made ready in the last weeks so that by the end of term you will have a piece that will be ready to be fired. (Students who may prefer to cast their pieces in other classes are also encouraged to attend.)
Some previous experience of either sculpting with clay or working from a life model (life drawing included) is preferred.
Pictured: inspiration from Giacometti.
*Early Bird discount finishes 21 January.
*No class running on Easter Sunday, 31 March
¾ Life-size Torso Sculpture Workshop with Georgina Mills: PM Workshop
Tom Bass Sculpture Studio School 1A Clara Street, Erskineville, NSWTuesday 16 July - Saturday 20 July
Tue - Fri: 4pm - 8pm
Sat: 4pm - 9pm
$710.30* (Earlybird)
$790.30 (General)
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.
Students can expect 13 hours model time. 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.
Modelling from Life: the Full Figure with Monika Scarrabelotti
Tom Bass Sculpture Studio School 1A Clara Street, Erskineville, NSWFridays: 26 July - 6 September 2024 (7 weeks)
$695.30 (Earlybird)
$770.30 (General)
Learn the principles of modelling the figure in clay! Designed to develop the student’s understanding of the form and structure of the human body, this course will be an intensive life study focusing on human anatomy and observation.
Working from a life model for seven weeks, students will have the opportunity to develop their knowledge of anatomy, the rhythms and movable masses of the body, proportion and language of sculptural form. Students will develop skills in armature building, clay modelling and training of the observational eye.
The first class of this course will feature various poses from the model, allowing participants to create "sketches" in clay. By the second lesson we will settle into a long pose to be worked on for the remaining six weeks. In order to have optimal time with a model, this course will not include mould making and casting. The course is intended as an intensive life study, not to complete a finished "masterpiece". Students who would like to translate their work into a cast can do so by enrolling in a workshop class at the Tom Bass Studio. Suitable for beginners through to advanced levels, this course will teach the foundations of the classical figure in sculpture.
*Early Bird discount finishes 5 July.
Studio Saturdays PM
Tom Bass Sculpture Studio School 1A Clara Street, Erskineville, NSW5 Weeks
2 Nov - 30 Nov
Studio Saturdays with Peter Bartlett
Tom Bass Sculpture Studio School 1A Clara Street, Erskineville, NSWSaturdays: 2 Nov - 30 Nov (5 weeks)
1:30pm - 4:30pm
$385.30 (Earlybird)
$425.30 (General)
This is a NEW Workshop for Term 4. Join Peter Bartlett for this new time slot on Saturday afternoons at TBSSS. A chance to work on larger scale sculptures, hone your construction skills, learn about fabrication, as well as more complex armatures and casting.
Peter is an accomplished sculptor, who also runs his own workshop “Pier Productions”. Peter’s workshop builds and paints scenery and props for theatre, events and display. With his vast practical experience, Peter has assisted other artists and fellow sculptors with armatures and mould making.
*Early bird discount ends midnight 12 October.
Picture: Work in progress large scale sculpture commission by Carol Crawford.
Stone Carving with Elena Murgia PM
Tom Bass Sculpture Studio School 1A Clara Street, Erskineville, NSWTuesdays PM: 19 Nov - 17 Dec (5 weeks)
1:30pm - 4:30pm
$330.30 (Earlybird)
$365.30 (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 5 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 5 November.
4 Week Modelling From Life in Clay with Monika Scarrabelotti
Tom Bass Sculpture Studio School 1A Clara Street, Erskineville, NSWMonday EVE, 25 Nov - 16 Dec (4 Weeks), 6 - 9pm
$325.30 (Earlybird)
$360.30 (General)
Join artist and teacher Monika Scarrabelotti for this Monday night workshop modelling from life in clay. Perfect for beginners and experienced artists alike, this course is designed as a casual approach to regular modelling, like life drawing, where the aim focuses on improving your practice rather than completing a single “masterpiece”.
Each Monday night will feature a different model and pose, offering the opportunity to work on a series of small scale “studies” that can be completed within the three hour class-time.
Guided by Monika, participants will develop skills in understanding sculptural fundamentals such as form, balance, structure and proportion. Students will have the opportunity to experiment with various sculptural techniques and styles in each class.
Class structure: Classes run from 6 – 9pm, please arrive 5 minutes before class to allow for a prompt start. There will be a 15 minute tea break halfway through each class. Feel free to bring any snacks you may want for yourself or to share. The studio will provide tea, coffee and milk.
Each class will feature a different model and different pose (or various short poses).
This workshop is intended to develop skills and experience, rather than completing a finished artwork. Think of this workshop as life drawing for sculptors! Each study will be completed in raw clay with no armature; those wishing to cast sculptures or prepare for firing can do so by enrolling in our open workshop classes. Materials and tools will be provided; a wooden board or box is recommended to bring sculptures home at the end of class/end of course. Included in the course fee is one 10kg bag of clay, more clay will be available for purchase if required. Participants with their own tools are encouraged to bring them along.
*Early Bird discount available until 4 November 2024.
