This is a future workshop. Registering your interest is not a confirmed booking and does not require payment.
A small, hands-on portrait sculpture workshop for people who would like to learn how to sculpt the human head in clay.
Over four consecutive weekends you are taken through the process of developing a three-dimensional portrait — beginning with the overall structure and proportions of the head, and progressively developing the facial features, character and surface.
The workshop takes exactly four participants — not up to four, but four — and runs only when all four places are filled. That number is deliberate. It is small enough that everyone has a dedicated workstation, their own equipment and individual guidance throughout, with real time to develop your own sculpture rather than watching a demonstration from the back of a room.
These workshops focus specifically on female head and portrait sculpture. Working to one clearly defined subject over four weekends keeps the teaching coherent: the proportions, planes and structural relationships you learn are studied properly rather than skimmed, and they give you a foundation you can carry into whatever you sculpt next.
Each day you are required to arrive at 9:00 am, an hour before teaching begins, to settle in, sign the safety form, set up your workspace and talk through the day’s program over a coffee. Teaching itself runs from 10:00 am to 3:45 pm, with demonstrations, individual feedback and a lunch break of about 45 minutes — roughly 20 hours of guided studio time across the four weekends. There is more on the 9:00 am hour under Arrival & Preparation below.
If you would like to know where this workshop comes from, I have written about how I learned to sculpt, and why I want to teach.
This is a guided learning workshop. Individual results will naturally vary depending on each participant’s experience, observation and progress.
Each participant has their own height-adjustable rotating turntable with a pre-mounted armature, ready for sculpting from the beginning of the workshop. This matters more than it might sound: you need to be able to turn the sculpture continually and read it from every viewpoint while you work, and to bring it to your own eye level rather than stooping over it.
You do not need to buy or build an armature. Everything is prepared before you arrive.
Each participant has an individual three-dimensional model reference at their workstation, giving you a consistent visual reference for studying proportions, facial structure, features and form throughout the workshop.
You work closely from your own reference while I demonstrate techniques, explain the underlying structure and give individual guidance across the four weekends. Having the reference directly in front of you means you can keep checking it between demonstrations, from the same viewpoint each time, and it does not change from one weekend to the next.
A profile guide is provided to help participants establish the side profile, proportions and structure of the head before developing the facial features — the stage that determines whether everything that follows sits correctly.
Firing is carried out by the artist and studio operator only. Participants do not operate or handle the kiln.
$227.50 per weekend · $910 in total for the complete four-weekend workshop
The fee covers the complete four-weekend workshop. The four weekends are one continuous course and each week builds on the one before it, so a place is taken for the whole workshop rather than for single days.
There is no deposit and no payment in advance. The fee is paid in four equal payments of $227.50, in cash, on the day of each weekend session.
Your place is confirmed by email once dates are set. Nothing is payable until the first weekend, and each payment covers the session you are attending that day.
This arrangement will apply once workshop dates are confirmed and places are offered. There is no online payment or booking at this stage — registering your interest costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Please allow one hour to complete registration, safety procedures and workspace preparation before the workshop begins.
Participants are required to arrive at 9:00 am, so there is enough time to settle in and get set up before teaching begins at 10:00 am. It is a relaxed hour — there is coffee on — but it is a full one, and it works best when everyone is here for it.
During this first hour you will:
This hour is part of the workshop experience rather than additional teaching time. It is there so that everyone is settled, safely set up and ready to start together — and so that the first hour of teaching is spent teaching.
With only four participants, one late arrival holds up the whole group. Please plan to be here at 9:00 am.
Portrait sculpture is a continuous process of observing, adjusting and refining. Each weekend has its own focus, but proportion, profile, structure and observation are revisited throughout — Week 1 is not finished before Week 2 begins.
Building the foundation: profile, proportion, volume and structure
The first session focuses on understanding the head as a three-dimensional form rather than moving straight to facial detail. You begin by establishing the front and side profiles and learning how to assess the overall proportions of the head. This stage is deliberately unhurried — the accuracy of the profile and the major forms influences everything that follows.
Build the foundations first. If the structure is wrong, adding more detail will not create an accurate portrait.
Developing the features while continuing to refine the underlying structure
Once the major proportions and profiles are developing, you begin building the facial features. Profile, proportion and volume continue to be checked throughout — the features are not sculpted in isolation, but developed as part of the overall structure of the head.
A good part of this session is given to setting up grid lines on the head: a centre line down the face, and horizontal lines across the brow, the base of the nose and the line of the mouth. The grid is not decoration and it is not a shortcut. It is a map, and once it is on the clay you have something to measure against. Instead of asking whether an eye looks right — a question that is very hard to answer by eye alone — you can ask where it sits in relation to the centre line and the brow line, and whether the two sides of the face agree.
You learn to read the grid in both directions. You take information from it: where a form belongs, how far it should project, where a mass is missing and needs building up. And you draw onto it, establishing new lines that map out the shapes you are about to build before you commit clay to them. When something is wrong, the grid will usually tell you which part is wrong — far more useful than only knowing that the face is somehow off.
I also show you how I work myself. I keep the front-on view of the three-dimensional reference standing directly beside the sculpture, at the same height, so my eye can travel between the two in an instant rather than turning away and trying to carry the image in my head. It is a small habit, and it makes a considerable difference to accuracy.
Do not sculpt the features in isolation. Every feature must belong to the structure of the whole head.
Bringing structure, features, observation and character together
By Week 3 the sculpture begins to move from a structural study towards an individual portrait. You continue revisiting the profile, proportions and facial features while developing the character and individuality of the work. The workshop focuses on a relatively simple portrait — open eyes and a closed mouth — rather than attempting an overly complicated expression.
Likeness comes from the relationship of all the forms, not from one perfectly sculpted feature.
Bringing the sculpture together as a complete portrait
The final session brings all the elements together and settles on an appropriate level of refinement and surface finish. A successful sculpture does not necessarily need a perfectly smooth surface — depending on the work, visible modelling, tool marks and a more expressive surface can contribute a great deal to its character.
Know when to refine, and know when to stop. The finished sculpture should keep the character and energy developed throughout the process.
One of the most important habits in portrait sculpture is learning to step away from the work. Distance lets you see the larger proportions, relationships and shapes that become difficult to recognise when you are working close to the clay. Before any important decision about the sculpture, you are encouraged to stand back, observe and reassess.
Rather than completing one feature at a time, the sculpture is developed progressively as a whole. Profile, proportion, volume and facial features are revisited continually across the four weeks, and the emphasis throughout is on the relationship between the individual features and the complete three-dimensional form.
One 10 kg bag of clay is included in the workshop fee. For most participants that is enough for the head you build over the four weekends.
Any additional clay is purchased separately and is available directly from the studio, at approximately $30 per 10 kg bag. Buying it here rather than bringing your own makes sure everyone is working with a clay appropriate to the workshop process and to the firing that follows.
Participants supply their own basic sculpting tools. Everything else is prepared for you — your turntable, pre-mounted armature, workspace and profile guide are all set up and ready before you arrive.
A few good-quality basic tools go a long way in portrait sculpture. There is no need for a large or expensive professional set, and tools bought now will serve your own practice long after the workshop.
The essential tools below are the minimum each participant needs to bring. The additional items are suggestions for anyone who would like to build a fuller toolkit — you are not required to buy everything listed.
If you have trouble finding any of them, don’t let it stop you registering. I keep spare tools at the studio and you are welcome to borrow them in the meantime.
The first four can be bought as one set. The drawing tool, sculpture eye tool, loop tool and ball tool listed below are all covered by a single six-piece carving and modelling set — a good set to have for the fine detail work in the face. It is listed as 6Pcs Carving Clay Sculpting Hand Chisel Modeling Making Woodworking Process Tool and is available from Amazon Australia. Buying the four separately is equally fine.
Buy tools from a ceramics supplier rather than a cheap pottery set from a general art shop. The cheap sets are unpleasant to use and will hold your sculpting back; good basic tools are not expensive and will serve your own practice long after the workshop.
If you would like to build a fuller kit over time, this is my own working set. It is for reference only — you do not need any of it for the workshop, and none of it is expected. It simply gives you an idea of the sort of thing that turns out to be useful once you keep going.
Participants who would like a more comprehensive selection may also consider the Clay Shed All Purpose Tool Kit or the 11-piece clean-up tool kit.
For participants who would like to add colour and surface decoration to their sculpture, I recommend the Walker Ceramics Cesco Underglaze Set — seven colours plus colour extender, 20 ml each, firing range 1000–1280 °C.
Once the four-week workshop has finished, the sculptures need to dry slowly and carefully before they can be fired. Controlled drying may take several weeks, depending on the thickness of the clay, how the sculpture is built and the conditions at the time.
Ceramic firing always carries some natural risk, including cracking or breakage, and a successful firing depends on how the work has been constructed and dried. This is simply part of working in clay, and the workshop covers how to give your sculpture the best chance.
The first/bisque firing of a suitable completed sculpture is included in the workshop fee. Before firing, I assess the sculpture to make sure it has been appropriately constructed and prepared — sufficiently hollowed, adequately vented, free of trapped air, sound in construction and properly dried. As the kiln owner and operator I reserve the right to decline to fire any sculpture that is unsuitable or unsafe for kiln firing, in order to protect your work, other work in the kiln, the kiln and the studio. Participants do not operate, load, unload or handle the kiln.
If a second firing is required and the sculpture is considered suitable for further firing, an additional firing service may be available in accordance with the studio’s current Firing Service rates and requirements. The second firing is separate from the workshop fee.
The workshop takes place at Sentient Form Studio, a private artist studio, in a covered outdoor working area at Caloundra, surrounded by plants — a relaxed, creative environment with natural light and protection from the weather. Each participant has their own prepared workspace and height-adjustable rotating turntable.
The working area has a level concrete floor and individual workstations. Participants also have access to bathroom facilities within the house, which requires negotiating a step between the outdoor studio area and the house. Please wear comfortable clothing and enclosed, sensible footwear.
As the workshop is held in a covered outdoor studio area, workshops are scheduled during the warmer months, when conditions are most comfortable for working with clay. The exact timing may vary from one workshop to the next, depending on the weather and on availability.
The exact address is provided to confirmed participants.
Before you register
Before attending, participants are asked to read and sign a Participant Acknowledgement, Safety & Workshop Agreement. The agreement covers the workshop environment, general studio safety expectations, the use of clay and hand-held sculpting tools, participant responsibilities, following reasonable studio instructions, appropriate footwear and clothing, the process for drying and firing ceramic work, and payment, cancellation and participation conditions.
You receive the workshop information and the agreement before your place is confirmed, with an opportunity to ask questions.
Workshop dates are yet to be confirmed. Completing the registration form is an expression of interest only. It does not create a confirmed booking, and no payment is required at this stage.
The workshop will proceed once exactly four participants have confirmed their places.
If you decide to join the workshop, please read the following information before confirming your place.
All workshop places must be confirmed in advance. There is no booking fee, deposit or payment required upfront.
The workshop fee is $227.50 per weekend, or $910 for the complete four-weekend workshop. Payment is made in cash on the day of each weekend session.
As the workshop is limited to exactly four participants, confirming your place represents a commitment to the complete four-weekend program.
Each weekend builds on the previous session, so regular attendance is important to your progress and to the continuity of the group.
I understand that unexpected circumstances can sometimes arise. If you are unable to attend a session, please let me know as early as possible.
Where possible, a missed class may be made up in conjunction with another workshop, subject to availability.
A private make-up or additional tuition session can also be arranged with me at $40 per hour. Private tuition is separate from the workshop fee.
Please note that a private session is intended to help you continue or catch up with your sculpture; it is not a free replacement for a missed workshop day.
Every effort will be made to run the workshop as scheduled. If I need to postpone or cancel a workshop due to unforeseen circumstances, I will let you know as soon as possible.
Where appropriate, an alternative date or make-up arrangement will be offered.
I aim to provide an informative, affordable and enjoyable hands-on experience in a friendly and supportive environment.
Because I offer this flexible payment arrangement, please only book the workshop if you are genuinely committed to attending the complete four-weekend program. Each workshop requires considerable preparation, including setting up specialist equipment, preparing materials and arranging lunch, refreshments, tea, coffee and fruit in advance. Your commitment helps ensure that the workshop can be provided as planned and that everyone has a positive experience.
If you need to cancel before the workshop commences, I ask that you provide at least two weeks’ notice wherever possible. This gives me a reasonable opportunity to offer your place to another participant.
If unexpected financial difficulties arise after you have commenced the workshop and you are unable to continue, please contact me as soon as possible so we can discuss the situation.
Your sculpture is handled and fired by me with the utmost care. Ceramics can be unpredictable, however, and cracking, breakage, kiln-related damage and other firing mishaps can occasionally occur.
If a sculpture is damaged during firing, I will do my best to assess whether it can be repaired. Where a repair is not reasonably possible, I may offer an opportunity to remake the work with additional tuition or studio time at a reduced rate, subject to availability. Any such arrangement is separate from the workshop fee and will be agreed with you beforehand.
Before firing, I assess each completed sculpture to make sure it has been appropriately constructed and prepared, including adequate hollowing, venting and drying, and that it is sound enough to be safely fired.
As the kiln owner and operator, I reserve the right to decline to fire any sculpture that I consider unsuitable or unsafe for firing. This is to protect your work, other work in the kiln, the kiln itself and the studio.
If your sculpture needs to be rebuilt or remade because it is not suitable for firing, additional private tuition can be arranged at $40 per hour. This is separate from the workshop fee and is not provided free of charge. Where appropriate, and subject to availability, you may instead be offered a place in a future workshop at a reduced rate.
The first/bisque firing of one suitable completed sculpture is included in the workshop fee. Any additional or second firing, where appropriate, is separate and may be available in accordance with the studio’s current Firing Service rates and requirements.
Participants do not operate, load, unload or handle the kiln.
My aim is for you to enjoy the process of working with clay while learning how to construct, dry and prepare your sculpture as safely and successfully as possible.
Clay is a wonderful but sometimes unpredictable material. I will share my knowledge and experience with you throughout the workshop and take every reasonable care with your work, while recognising that some aspects of ceramic making and firing cannot be completely guaranteed.
Coming Soon
Interested in joining this workshop? Register your interest and I will contact you when the workshop dates, format and registration details are confirmed.
Each workshop is limited to four participants and will proceed once all four places have been confirmed.
Please note that submitting this form is an expression of interest only. It does not constitute a confirmed booking or guarantee a place. Workshop dates and final registration details will be confirmed separately.