Courses in Sculpture

ESW’s spring and summer programme of sculpture courses for 2010 Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop offers a wide range of evening and weekend courses in contemporary sculpture designed for all levels of experience including beginners. Courses are led by experienced and supportive tutors and by limiting class size we ensure that you will receive individual attention. We are delighted to offer all course participants two free day sessions to enable you to come back and work at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop or to experiment further with techniques learned. Please do contact us for further information about any aspect of the courses on offer.   Evening classes WOOD CARVING Mondays, 1 February - 22 March, 6.30-9pm 8 weeks £130 A very popular course which offers tuition in wood carving and finishing techniques towards producing a three-dimensional carving or relief panel. Suitable for all levels of experience from beginner level. CLAY PORTRAIT Wednesdays, 3 February - 31 March 9 weeks £145 Working with a model, this course combines use of observational skills with tradition modelling techniques. An extra session has been added to this course for the hollowing out stage. Suitable for all levels of experience. STONE CARVING Thursdays, 4 February - 1 April, 6.30-9pm 9 weeks £130 Thursdays, 15 April - 17 June, 6.30-9pm 9 weeks £130 Using Portland limestone, a relatively soft stone, you explore different techniques to create a carving in 3-dimensions or relief. Suitable for all levels of experience from beginner level. WORKING WITH FOUND OBJECTS Tuesdays, 23 February - 16 March, 6.30-9pm 4 weeks £65 Providing a short introduction to the use of found objects in sculptural practice this course is a practical session which will explore the creative possibilities of working within this contemporary process. MECHANICAL KINETIC SCULPTURE Tuesdays, 23 March - 27 April, 6.30-9pm 6 weeks £125 Using a basic knowledge of engineering and electronics this course offers an opportunity to make sculptures with moving parts using motors and learn the essentials of building mechanisms by hand using a variety of materials and techniques. CLAY MODELLING Wednesdays, 14 April - 23 June, 6.30-9pm 9 weeks £145 Working with a draped model, develop your observational skills and experiment with traditional modelling techniques to produce a clay model of a whole figure. Suitable for all levels of experience. FROM PLASTER Tuesdays, 4 - 24 May, 6.30-9pm 6 weeks £80 Plaster is a very flexible material which opens up the possibilities of making 3-dimensional or relief work using carving, casting or even printing techniques. This course focuses on carving using cast plaster blocks as the starting point. Weekend Classes METAL SCULPTURE Saturdays, 23, 30 January 2 days £155 Saturdays, 6, 13 February 2 days £155 Saturdays, 8, 15, 22 May 3 days £210 Running over consecutive Saturdays in ESW's Metal Workshop, you will learn to use forging, welding and plasma cutting equipment, and produce a small sculpture. Suitable for all levels of experience. Places on each course are limited to 6. TOOL SHARPENING WORKSHOP: WOOD CARVING    NEW Saturday, tba, 2pm 1 hour £6 TOOL SHARPENING WORKSHOP: STONE CARVING    NEW Saturday, tba, 3pm 1 hour £6 Good maintenance will extend the life of your tools and improve their performance. These two workshops, one each for Wood Carving and Stone Carving tools, will give you an introduction to the use of sharpening equipment and the methods used for different kinds of tools. * Book for both Tool Sharpening Workshops at the same time and pay only £10 total. BODY CASTING FOR HEARING IMPAIRED    NEW Saturday 27, Sunday 28 February, 10am-4pm 2 days £135 Taking inspiration from sculptor Antony Gormley, participants will learn about the different materials and methods that can be used to cast the human body. The course will be taught in BSL as well as spoken English. The following three weekend / Saturday workshops encourage experimentation with a variety of glass-making techniques and colours which will enable participants to create beautiful glass pieces: WORKING WITH GLASS 1 *    NEW Saturday 6 March, Sunday 7 March, 10am-4pm 2 days £155 Working with layers of glass, colour frits and copper inclusions this is an opportunity to explore various fusing techniques, progressing from colour tiles and deep fused forms, to kiln carving to create textured bas relief sculptures. WORKING WITH GLASS 2 *    NEW Saturday 3 April, Sunday 4 April, 10am-4pm 2 days £155 An introduction to open mould casting and pate de verre, the first day will look at translating ideas into clay to create a relief cast sculpture in clear glass. The second day will explore pate de verre (glass paste), creating a shallow relief tile. WORKING WITH GLASS 3 *    NEW Saturday 1 May, 10am-4pm 1 day £75 An introduction to ways of creating a reverse relief cast glass sculpture using various materials to construct a mould and create a small model which will become the negative (holographic) image within a block of glass. * If booking for two Working with Glass courses (at the same time) save £5. * If booking for all three Working with Glass courses (at the same time) save £15. FELTMAKING INTO SOFT SCULPTURE    NEW Saturdays, 20, 27 March, 10am-4pm 2 days £100 Learn the modern equivalent of traditional techniques of dry and wet feltmaking, followed by a day of construction of these felt pieces into a small soft sculpture. Suitable for all levels of experience. MIXED MEDIA CONSTRUCTION Saturdays, 10, 17 April, 10am-4pm 2 days £105 This two-day course offers a practical introduction to contemporary sculptural practice. Using a range of materials such as wood, metal or found objects participants will be able to explore ideas relating to the development of abstract sculpture and gain an insight into how artists working in this way create work and develop ideas. PAPERMAKING TASTER DAY    NEW Saturday, 24 April, 10am-4pm 2 days £55 Recycle your old cotton rags into beautiful pieces of unique handmade paper, incorporating designs, motifs and trapped objects. Suitable for all levels of experience. DIS-PLACE Saturdays 19, 26 June, 10am-4pm 2 days £105 Using a range of materials and found objects and looking at drawing in its widest sense, this workshop aims to give an insight into working conceptually. Sculpture as installation, drawing for sculpture and sculpture as idea will all be explored through the underlying theme of experimentation with context. Lecture Series CAUSES & CONNECTIONS: The Origins of Contemporary Sculpture Tuesdays, 24 November - 15 December 8 weeks £70 and 19 January - 9 February, 6-7.30pm     Find out more about contemporary sculpture on this introductory course to the historical origins of recent and current contemporary sculptural practices. Each session will begin with a short illustrated presentation followed by a group discussion, and will focus on a particular aspect of contemporary sculpture by making linkages between practicing artists and prior practitioners working in related areas. Session 1: The Figure: Rodin & Gormley Session 2: The Constructed Form: Taitlin & de Goede Session 3: The Found Object: Duchamp, Wentworth and Salcedo Session 4: The Object Made Strange: Oppenheim & Perry Session 5: Drawing with Steel: Smith, Caro & di Suvero Session 6: Light, Motion & Installation: Tinguley, Kaprow & Turrell Session 7: Repetitions: Judd, Andre & Serra Session 8: Social Sculpture: Beuys & Tiravanija THEORY & PRACTICE: A LOOK AT CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE TODAY    NEW Tuesdays, 8 June - 27 July, 6-7.30pm 8 weeks £70 This course, running over eight evenings, will provide an informal overview of current theoretical debates in relation to contemporary sculptural practice. Each session will begin with a slide presentation followed by an in-depth discussion and some sessions may take the form of visits to local works of art or artist studios. This is intended to complement the “Causes and Connections” course. Emergence Spring/Summer: Friday 9 July, 6-8pm and Saturday 10 July 10am-4pm An exhibition of work from the Courses in Sculpture participants. For visitors this is an opportunity to see work made on the courses and meet some of ESW’s staff and tutors; for participants it provides an opportunity to see their work presented in the context of an exhibition.

Book Your Place

Please contact us by telephone on +44 (0) 131 551 4490 or by email on admin@edinburghsculpture.org with details of the course you would like to join. Payment must be made in advance for all courses. Courses are for people aged 16 and upwards.

Concessions
10% concessions are available to the following groups: unemployed people, students, senior citizens and benefit claimants. To receive your discount we need proof of your concessionary status.

Tours and Group Events

We offer free tours of the workshop for individuals so you can see what facilities are available at ESW. Tours and talks for organizations or community groups can be arranged throughout the year.
ESW can also facilitate group or schools workshops tailored to specific needs or requirements for people of all ages and abilities. Please contact our Office Manager, Lynn Cowan, for information about workshop rates or to book your visit.

What We Do

Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop provides studios, workspaces and specialist equipment accommodating a broad range of sculptural practice. For those who want to learn the basics of sculpture-making or who wish to develop their skills, our courses offer a wide choice of activity and are a good introduction for people wanting to work on their own at ESW.

We run a programme of talks, exhibitions and other events throughout the year which are open to all. If you would like to be kept informed about events at ESW please email or call us with your contact details and we will add you to our mailing list.

We are currently fundraising for a new building to be built on our present site in Leith close to the “Edinburgh Waterfront” development area. Our ambition is to create the first purpose-built, open access sculpture facility in the UK with the aim of becoming a true centre of excellence for contemporary sculpture on a local, national and international level. For further information please visit our website.