Spend a weekend learning how to make clay animals using a contemporary technique that is loose, expressive and breaks all the rules. The course is great for beginners and experienced artists alike. And the best part is that you can make pretty much whatever animals you like too.
The course is taught by artists, James Ort and Alison Pink. They specialize in a form of contemporary clay modelling which pushes clay to its limits – it’s a fast, easy to learn technique which brings life, energy and grace to the creations. Over the two days you will be given a series of demonstrations that show you the key stages and principles of the technique. The rest of the weekend will be spent making your own pieces with the tutors’ guidance and support every step of the way. Once completed, your masterpieces will be dried out and then fired in our kilns. You will then need to return for a later glazing session to bring colour and life to your pieces.
This fun weekend course includes:
- Informal, relaxed & attentive guidance for every student, provided by James Ort
- Step-by-step demonstrations covering…
- How to build an armature for reclined, seated and standing animals
- How to apply the clay to best capture the animal’s anatomy
- How to create expressive facial features and character
- An outline of the firing process in our kiln room
- How to glaze your work using underglazes on a separate session a few weeks after the weekend course
COURSE OUTLINE
DAY 1: SATURDAY
Reclined or seated animals.
DAY 2: SUNDAY
Four-legged standing animals.
Suitable for?
Anyone regardless of experience – we generally limit the age to 14 years old+ though.
What is included in the price?
- Two full days teaching (10am-4pm-ish)
- A printed course handout outlining the technique’s main principles
- Clay, firings and glazes
- A glazing session once your pieces have been bisque fire*
- Tea, coffee, biscuits/cakes
- Use of a beautiful, purpose built art studio with all the equipment & materials you will need
- Beautiful countryside setting
* James runs various glazing days throughout the year. You will be asked to sign up for one of these days once you have booked your place. Glazing typically takes between 2-4 hours to glaze but this depends on the artist!
This course is for you if:
- You want to explore your creativity but lack the confidence to do so on your own
- You want to get away from it all and immerse yourself in a fun, creative environment
- You want to experiment in clay but aren’t interested in pottery
- You love animals
Pre course prep
If you have signed up for the course or are considering doing so then you just need to do a little preparation beforehand. In a nutshell you need to collect reference material from which your sculpture will be based (i.e. pictures of your subject matter from various angles).
Return Glazing Session
Once you have made your creations on the weekend, they will need to be dried & bisque fired before they can be glazed. This means that you will need to return at another time to glaze your work, then another to collect the finished pieces.
I run various glazing sessions after the course, one of which you will need to book yourself onto. You book yourself a slot using a website called doodle – it’s very easy to do.
Beyond The Course
Having completed a clay animal course many of our students choose to explore clay further. They may come on another weekend course, start coming to our Creative Monday Sessions, evening sessions or carry on independently at home (you can bring your pieces here to be fired in our kilns).
At the end of the course we are confident that you will come away with two pieces that you can be happy with and have a great sense of pride & achievement. Who knows, discovering ceramics may change the course of your life – it certainly has mine!
James Ort – Course Tutor
ABOUT THE TEACHERS
Alison is a ceramic artist who runs the weekend courses alongside James. She keeps him on the straight & narrow, helping to ensure that things run smoothly!
We get wonderful feedback from the people who attend this course. Here are just a couple of testimonials:
What a great weekend, everyone got something really good & rewarding out of it.James is a great teacher & made it all look easy and not daunting at all. Top marks!The weekend flew by & what a great sense of achievement, I think we all surprised ourselves.Henry Rossiter
I had a great weekend thanks, and was able to activate the right side of my brain for a change!
Really pleased with what I was able to achieve in such a short space of time!
Nicola Cook
If you are travelling from further afield and would like to stay in the area for your visit then have a look at our recommend B&Bs and hotels. Click here for the list.
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