My TAFE course has recommenced for 2011 and this semester I am studying sculpture. It reminds me quite a bit of all the pottery I did at high school, and attempted to do after high school, but I am a lot more confident at trying to attempt human forms nowadays. Not better at it mind you - still have to practice a bit. But I'm not as worried about what people will think so if I make something that is NQR I understand that the world does not end!
Following is my article that appeared this week.
The Pilbara Echo, 12 March 2011
Sculpture Class
It is the time of the year to be a little contemplative I think. The kids have settled back into school, the holidays are over and some of us are revisiting our new year’s resolution to get our mind going, or to find a new hobby or even just to find something to do that gets us out of the house on a regular basis.
If you are looking for something fun to do that is stress free and doesn’t cost a bomb may I suggest the sculpture unit that is part of the Visual Arts Certificate at Hedland TAFE.
So many people say to me that they would love to study art but that they aren’t creative or that they couldn’t handle the pressures of study.
To these people I say everybody is creative. Without fail when you start asking them what they do in their spare time or what interests them it turns out to be something creative. You don’t have to want to paint a masterpiece to be creative – you just have to find something you enjoy and do it. It may also be that you haven’t found your creative medium yet and this is why a course through the TAFE can be so brilliant – you get to try so many different things.
This leads me on to the second thing people say about the pressures of study. Guess how many assignments I have do for the sculpture unit? None. Essays? None. Exams? None. Let me tell you what I do have to do.
I have to undertake 10 experiments in creating sculptures taking 15 minutes to 1 hour for each experiment. So far I have used some modelling clay to create a very weird looking little woman, experimented with plaster bandage, undertaken some paper mache, chiseled away at some hebel block and created some paper mache clay I found a recipe for on the internet.
After this I have to produce three small sculptural pieces related by a common concept. I have decided to make paper mache clay sculptures of the characters out of my books, another student made little people out of telephone pages.
Then I have the option of creating a 3D artwork from a sculpture kit or creating a piece of assemblage art which is the option I am going for. I have decided to steal my kids’ toys and try and make a Transformer out of them. Of course eventually I will give them back but not until I get to show off my sculpture and the bonus will be less mess in their bedrooms until then.
It is a requirement of the unit that I do some research about sculpture and my artworks but this really is as simple as having a look on the internet, thinking about what I want to do, talking to other artists, students and teachers and being inspired by the world around me. After this I put down my thoughts and notes on my work into my visual diary and I am ready to go.
So for the bargain price of $162.40 I get out one night a week to have a great time in a stress free environment in the guise of studying sculpture. No wonder I am thrilled about it.
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