FAO10 Portraiture in Clay

In this portrait course you will learn a process with which to create a life-size and life-like portrait of a life…

In this portrait course you will learn a process with which to create a life-size and life-like portrait of a life model. Using coils of clay, students will build up a hollow shell that is shaped according to the model’s proportions.  As the term progresses this shell will increasingly relate to the model’s head at which point features may begin to emerge.

The gradual steps in this technique will facilitate the student to refine their observations in stages, incrementally finding a sharper focus to their vision.  Bit by bit, students will learn to appreciate how an entire form emerges from such an approach.

In this way, the student will grasp how the visual systems in the brain are creating some falsehoods, and how a portrait artist needs to resist such interpretation in their reaching for likeness.  The most usual mistake in portraiture leads to the creation of self-portraits rather than a description of the model in front of them.  

Students will learn to override these interpretations and use their eyes in a different way so that they can record and then describe a likeness. The course fee includes oxides, firing and glazing if required. Clay can be purchased separately from the school. Suitable for beginners and those with experience.