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Workshop Sculpting the Figure

Study of Gesture + Proportions

Did you know that the best draftsmen were often gifted sculptors? Sculpting is simply “drawing in space”! Find out how sculptors like Michelangelo and Giambologna worked by looking back at the incredible work that comes out of our Florentine methodology. Techniques of old and new combine to create the Figura curriculum. The classical lives on!

About this workshop

Sculpting an image in the correct proportions AND a convincing pose? That is the purpose of this workshop! In 8 lessons you will create a figure study in clay from a live model (1: 5 scale). The lessons are based on the “drawing in space” methodology. Every evening begins with a briefing and a demo, and ends with a retrospective. Teacher and sculptor Sanne van Tongeren guides you individually at your own level during the evening. Do you have experience with modeling and drawing, but want to deepen or professionalize that knowledge? Then this is the course you are looking for. The groups are small and the lessons are focused on developing and improving your techniques from a structural approach. The lessons take place in the studios of Figura (Amsterdam West). After the workshop you will receive your sculpture, your tools and your armature to bring home. This way you can continue developing your skills in your own environment.

Date: Mondays 19:00 – 21:30 | September: 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 | October: 7, 14, 28
Price: 750 euro including armature and material (Chavant Clayette oil based clay)
Location: Hendrik van Wijnstraat 10, 1065 AS Amsterdam (tram 1 and 17, metro 50 and 51)

What we are going to do

  1. First we will determine the model’s position and adjust the armature accordingly.
  2. You will then learn to set up a solid structure in clay, starting with “the box and egg”. These basic structures represent both the attitude and the proportions of the model.
  3. Next you will develop your figure. You receive lessons in the realistic representation of both lines and surfaces. In this way, we deal first with the observation of contours. You learn to “draw in space” and prepare yourself for the second part of the lesson series: observing light. Other concepts that will be discussed are: compression versus extension, the use of the centerline, the layering and rendering of form.

Why this workshop?

This is why you should register for this workshop:
✓ the lessons are in the evening, so that they can be combined with your work schedule
✓ you receive lessons from classically trained experts
✓ All class hours are model hours with a live model
✓ the groups are small
✓ you receive individual guidance at your level
✓ the costs include clay, tools and armature

Are you interested? Contact us!

If have questions, remarks or simply want to say hello please contact me.

Phone: 06-15403583
Email: info@figura-sculpture.com

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Workshop Anatomy & Écorché

The complexity and beauty of human anatomy

Are you, like us, fascinated by the complexity and beauty of human anatomy? Then our new course, Anatomy & Écorché, is designed just for you! Artists use the term écorché (“skinned”) to describe a sculpted figure whose muscles are stripped of skin and whose muscle layers are partly shown down to the bone. The écorché often serves as a reference figure for assignments, or as an exercise for students who follow a classical figurative art education.

Dates: 29 feb – 4 march 2020 and 6-10 june 2020
Price: 1,500 euro including armature and clay (Chavant Clayette oil based clay)
Location: Hendrik van Wijnstraat 10, 1065 AS Amsterdam (tram 1 and 17, metro 50 and 51)

About the Course

The purpose of this course is for students to understand how the skeleton’s structure determines a pose, and to get a better idea of what is happening below the surface of the skin. We focus on Pelvis – Ribcage – Skull. This course consists of two intensive master classes of 5 days each (10 days in total). Students will be provided with their own resin skeleton of the three major masses (scale 1:2). During the course each student will model his own anatomical écorché: the deeper muscle masses in February, the large volumes/ visible surface muscles in June.

✓ Working with the skeleton is a practice of understanding the gesture of a pose and learning to visualize the underlying armature of the body. As every muscle lies on top of a bone, it too takes on that bone’s shape.
✓ You will focus mostly on construction and how to internalize all the information you are learning.
✓ You will start with the larger masses of muscles and bones. Always moving from simple to complex, and from big to small.
✓ The series is meant to be a journey across the landscape of the human body. You will learn how to travel it by memory so that it can be brought out whenever you need it, to increase your understanding of what you’re seeing while working from life.

The lessons will be given by painter and former director of the anatomy program at the Florence Academy of Art, Per Elof Nilsson Ricklund. Per Elof (Örnsköldsvik, Sweden) has taught at The Florence Academy of Art for more than a decade and has recently returned to his hometown in northern Sweden: www.penricklund.com. The lessons are partly supported by an anatomy app, developed by one of our other teachers, Alexander Kafoussias (Stockholm, Sweden). During Alex’s studies at The Florence Academy of Art, he developed the tool “Écorché Assistant”, a digital handbook for sculptors. After his studies, Alex continued sculpting at the Madame Tussauds studios in London. He is currently based in Stockholm, freelancing and giving master classes. The groups are small and the lessons are focused on developing and improving your techniques from a structural approach. The lessons take place in the studios of Figura (Amsterdam West). After the workshop you will receive your model, the lesson sheets and your armature to bring home. This way you can continue your studies in your own environment.

What we will do in the course:

We will begin by looking at material developed in the time of the classical academy and our current references (books, apps and online teaching). We will then systematically review the various parts of the human body through anatomical drawings and memory shapes, highlighting the importance of proportions and gesture of the skeleton and handing tools to recognize landmarks.

February

1. Understanding the harmony of a body in balance.
2. Begin with the larger muscle masses at the core of the body.
3. Working from the center out with focus on construction and rhythms.
4. Develop and understand the overlaps of the larger muscles groups.

June

1. Consider the connections between muscle, tendon and bone.
2. Develop the understanding of volume and overlaps.
3. Explore the concavities and convexities of the body.
4. Review the sense of unity by considering the body as a whole.

Why this workshop?

✓ Exclusive: unique in the Netherlands and only 6 spots available!
✓ you receive lessons from classically trained artists
✓ more than 55 hours of practice
✓ all class hours are contact hours
✓ you receive individual guidance at your own level
✓ the cost includes clay and armature
✓ You will have your own anatomical model to take with you by the end of the course

I am interested

Interested in this course? I am here to answer your questions.

Phone: 06-15403583
Email: info@figura-sculpture.com