Sat 11 July & Sun 12 July 2020

Carol Crawford, a specialist alabaster sculptor, will be teaching this weekend workshop.  Carol works almost exclusively in alabaster of different kinds, and is known for her soft sensuous forms.  She will guide you on the use of different hand tools, and how to realise a beautiful form out of the rough stone you have chosen. Alabaster is a very fine, stable beautiful stone that can be easily carved, it can be translucent or opaque white, salmon orange, yellow or green or a combination. For this workshop you will be working with beautiful white alabaster (translucent and opaque) shipped all the way from Italy! Places are strictly limited and early bookings are encouraged for this popular course.

$450.30* (earlybird) - $495.30

Fees include one piece of stone. Additional stone will be available for purchase.

Saturday 26 June 2021

$245.30

Back by popular demand...the ultimate winter experience!

Anne Marie Taberdo is a practitioner of the ephemeral art of ice sculpting. Working internationally with both natural and manufactured ice to create large-scale ice exhibitions from Alaska to Germany, ice musical instruments in Norway and event pieces in Sydney, she is accustomed to the many intricacies of the material in various environments.

In this one-of-a-kind TBSSS workshop, Anne Marie will guide and develop your understanding of working with an ever-changing material. You will work against time using various carving techniques with chisels and other ice adapted hand tools on your own block of crystal clear ice. By the end of the workshop you will have experienced one of the most unique ephemeral sculpting materials that has been sculpted and built with for centuries - but don’t forget to photograph it!

All materials supplied (ice, tools, gloves and waterproof apron). Places limited.

Monday 17 January - Friday 21 January 2022

$460.30 (Earlybird)
$510.30 (General)

This summer join us for an intensive 5 days of making sculpture. This is an open workshop class which will be run by TBSSS teacher Wendy Black. This workshop is for all skill levels. Students have the chance to work on any project they choose and in the media of their choosing. This may include - stone carving (alabaster, soapstone, limestone), direct plaster, wire, clay modelling, mould making and casting or a ceramic work (to be fired offsite and organised by yourself).

It may be a new project or it could be a sculpture that you are already working on. These 5 days are a wonderful chance to have uninterrupted Studio time over the summer! Places are limited and a short online mentoring session is available with Wendy before the workshop to talk about your ideas / project.

Fees include GST and all materials - except stone, which can be purchased at the Studio.

Sat 8 & Sun 9 July

This workshop is now sold out. You can join the waiting list by emailing admin@tbsss.org.au.

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 works predominantly with alabaster and who is known for her soft sensuous forms.  Carol will also be assisted by artist Elena Murgia, who specialises in marble carving.  For this weekend course Carol and Elena will guide you on the use of different hand tools, and how to realise a beautiful form out of the rough stone you have chosen. 

Alabaster is a very fine, stable beautiful stone that can be easily carved, it can be translucent or opaque white, salmon orange, brown or blue or a combination.  

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 include one piece of stone of up to 2kg, as well as the use of chisels, files and finishing sandpapers during the workshop.  Upsizing your piece of stone for the workshop or purchasing additional stone for your own use will also be possible for people attending the workshop.

Earlybird discount finishes 24 June.

Visit Carol’s website: www.carolcrawfordsculpture.net

Sat 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.

Sundays: 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

Fridays: 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.