sculpting the portrait

Saturdays 9:30 am - 12:30 pm (3 hours)

6 classes: $550 (all supplies included)

Starts May 23, 2026

Instructor:

Kaelin Palcu

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Class Description:


This 6-week portrait sculpting class focuses on developing a deep understanding of the portrait through working from a live model. The emphasis is on block-ins, learning to sketch with clay, and becoming comfortable interpreting the features of the head in three dimensions.

Students will begin with multiple short starts in order to build confidence and fluency in clay — treating sculpture as a form of note-taking and observation rather than a single long project. These early exercises are designed to help students loosen up, simplify, and organize information quickly while sharpening tools of observation.

The course introduces a basic functional artistic anatomy of the head so students understand not just what they are seeing, but why forms appear the way they do. We will focus on the structure of the skull, major planes of the head, and how features sit within that structure. The goal is to give students a clear and practical framework they can return to in both sculpture and two-dimensional work.

After the initial sketching phase, students will transition into a longer pose using the same model over the remaining weeks. This portion serves as an introduction to naturalistic modeling — learning how to interpret, refine, and develop the portrait over time while maintaining structural clarity.

Throughout the workshop, students will:

  • Practice block-ins and organizing form

  • Learn to sketch and restart in clay

  • Study functional artistic anatomy of the portrait

  • Develop observational accuracy

  • Interpret features three-dimensionally rather than symbolically

  • Begin developing longer, more resolved modeling

The class is designed both as a standalone introduction to portrait sculpture and as a foundation for continued sculpture study. It also directly supports painting and drawing by strengthening spatial understanding, form construction, and visual memory.

No prior sculpture experience is required.