Description
Animal Sculpture Workshop, with Jack Durling
Date: 17th – 18th January 2026
Run Time: 2 days
Teaching Session: 10am – 4pm
Lunch: 12:30pm, 30 mins, bring a packed lunch with you.
Tea break: 2:30pm, 15mins
Tutor: Jack Durling
Course description:
A two day workshop for those who have knowledge in working with clay, to produce an animal sculpture in clay. In this course you tutor will run through hand building techniques and methods to create your very own hollow formed ceramic animal sculpture. Techniques that will be covered in this course will be slab, coiling and modelled additions with armature applications. In finishing this course you should feel you have learnt further skills in sculpting in clay and how to utilise these skills in future projects. You should have a piece by the end of the course that is no larger than 30cm x 30cm.
Day 1: Working from your reference material, you will do a couple of loose drawing exercises, instructed by your tutor to get a sense of composition and form. You will then produce a maquette that will inform your direction to create a larger scaled animal sculpture. From here your tutor will demonstrate applications of hand building process to get the initial form of your piece.
Day2: Refinement, you will look at how to further develop and refine your sculpture of your chosen animal. Looking at texture and modelling techniques to enhance your sculpture. You should have a finished piece, but if you wish to work on it further after the course, that is also okay.
Things to consider:
- You do not have to be or are expected to be able to draw photographically or feel capable in this field, but it is an essential process in the course.
- Be open to adapt and allow your piece to evolve.
Please bring reference material for up to three animals, this can be photographs, drawings, doodles. Consider features, such as ears feet, front, side, rear profiles.
-Your tutor will have some images to hand but can’t guarantee they will have the reference materials you are looking for.
- You may not have a piece you had set out to make but it will demonstrate a greater understanding of sculpting in clay.
