Private & Group Tuition Sessions for Young Artists

Young artists with their clay animals

Explore the 3-dimensional world!

You have to admire the young minds don’t you?  They’re fearlessly creative and have unlimited imaginations.

Sadly though, in this day and age, schools are somewhat limited in what they can teach their pupils.  Budgets don’t stretch too far and teachers are often too busy to teach other mediums beyond painting or drawing.

This means that children often do not get to enjoy the thrill of 3D.   Whether working with the tactful, immersive nature of clay or the dynamic energy of wire, there is immense pleasure to be had from sculpting.

And it doesn’t just need to be the children partaking – parents can join in too. Making art together can be a wonderful experience for you all to enjoy together.  Arguments about whether homework has been done or not can be left at the door and you can enjoy quality time together, a time where nothing else matters other than what you are creating.

Private sessions can be tailored to your wants and needs but are essentially either based around these two mediums:

________Clay________

Get lost in the joys of clay!

There is so much that you can do with this wonderful medium. You can make name tiles, portrait animal heads, reclined or seated animals or, with some experience under your belt, four-legged beasties!

Clay based sessions typically consist of two sessions – one to make your form and a second session to glaze your masterpiece once it has been fired in the kiln!

Young artist with his artwork and James, the tutor

Participants will benefit from:

  • Informal, relaxed & attentive guidance for every student, provided by James Ort
  • Step-by-step demonstrations for whatever they choose to make
  • Guidance in how to build an armature and apply clay to it
  • Tuition on creating facial features and giving the piece character
  • An outline of the firing process in our kiln room
  • Tuition on how to glaze your work using underglazes
  • Ideas on how to display your work at home and how to carry on creating beyond the session

Split over two weeks, these sessions typically last for a total of 5 hours:

  • 2 and 1/2 hours is spent making the clay creation.
  • The pieces are then bisque fired to be made ready for glazing
  • The time taken to glaze depends on the person.  Around 2 hours is the norm

________Wire________

It’s like drawing in air!

Wire is unbounded with limitations.  The innate strength of the medium makes it easy to capture what you see in your imagination.

Make the sculpture of your choice over two consecutive sessions, add mixed media elements if you like. Animal or humans work well with this medium as the energy of the wire can bring life to your piece.

Young artist with wire sculpture

Participants will benefit from:

  • Informal, relaxed & attentive guidance for every student, provided by James Ort
  • A demonstration showing how to use a range of wire types (for example fencing wire, chicken wire and sheet metal)
  • Tuition on how to assemble your sculpture in order to make it both stable and lifelike
  • Guidance on how to use the wire to bring symmetry, flow and visual movement to the creations
  • Inspiration on how to incorporate mixed media elements into the sculpture
  • Ideas on how to display your work at home and how to carry on creating beyond the session

These sessions last for a total of 5 hours and can either be done in one session or two depending on schedules. If the artists are feeling confident then they can take their pieces home to work on them between each session 

These sessions are bespoke and happen at times that suit you and James both.

We welcome individuals or small groups (5 artists maximum).

The pricing structure is as follows:

 -£220 for private tuition

– £130/student for two students

– £100/student for three to five students

All prices include materials, firings, tools and refreshments

Please do email James (james@orts.co.uk) to express an interest in doing a session.

It is cheaper if you get more young artists to come join you. If you can’t find other young artists then you can express an interest in doing a group session with other people that have contacted James. Once a few names are on the list, he will email everyone to find a date that suits most people

All sessions will be taking place within the main studio space.  

It’s a vibrant, creative and inspiring space designed specifically for creating in.  There may be one or two artists working quietly on their own pieces. The ethos of the studio’s artists and guests is to welcome all, share ideas and seek inspiration from one another.

 

Discovering the joys of sculpting has changed my life.  There is so much reward to be had from turning a bunch of materials into a fully finished piece of art.  It is a life affirming act with a product that you can cherish at the end.

When I help inspire a one young person discover a talent and help them realise that they can achieve something beyond what they thought possible then I will feel like it’s mission accomplished!

James Ort – Course Tutor

More about the tutor:

James Ort

James is the tutor of the weekend course and runs the Phoenix Studio. Click here to see his artwork.

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