Sculpture in Clay
This course provides hands-on exploration of clay as a sculptural medium. Students learn hand-building, modeling, carving, surface treatment, and finishing techniques while developing an understanding of form, structure, proportion, and expressive 3D composition.
§ 01 By the end you can
- Demonstrate foundational clay-handling, hand-building, and modeling techniques.
- Construct stable forms using armatures, slabs, coils, and solid modeling.
- Apply surface treatments including texturing, carving, smoothing, and detailing.
- Understand drying, firing, and material behavior of clay.
- Produce finished clay sculptures showing structure, proportion, and expression.
§ 02 Sixteen sessions
The whole semester.
- 01Introduction to Clay Sculpture
- 02Clay Properties, Tools & Studio Safety
- 03Hand-Building: Pinch, Coil & Slab Methods
- 04Solid Modeling & Massing Techniques
- 05Building Armatures & Internal Supports
- 06Form, Proportion & Structural Planning
- 07Gesture & Expressive Clay Modeling
- 08 · MidtermAdditive & Subtractive Approaches
- 09Carving, Texturing & Surface Development
- 10Hollowing, Drying & Clay Management
- 11Understanding Firing & Kiln Processes
- 12Bust or Figurative Clay Study
- 13Functional vs Non-Functional Clay Forms
- 14Surface Refinement & Final Detailing
- 15Preparing Work for Firing & Display
- 16Final Clay Sculpture Project
Midterm around session 8. Final project briefed at session 8 or 9 and developed in stages until the juries.
§ 03 Final project
Students will create 3 fully realized clay sculpture demonstrating structure, form, and refined surface treatment.
Deliverables
- Completed clay sculptures (figurative, abstract, or thematic).
- Process journal with sketches, armature plans, and technique notes.
- Presentation explaining concept, form development, and finishing choices.
§ 04 Watch first
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