Here at The Fire Arts Center, we believe that figure sculpture is as essential to the understanding of the 3-dimensional form as drawing is to the understanding of color, light and composition. In many ways it is the basis of our other classes. The relationship between sculpting the figure and bronze casting is a long one, dating back to the first attempt to master the bronze casting process.

The figure study program at The Fire Arts Center teaches mastery of the classical techniques of sculpting the human form using clay and wax. Students are given the choice of casting finished work in plaster, or firing them in their original terracotta clay.

In this multi-level class students will learn to master the classical figure sculpture technique from a live model. We will cover the use of clay tools, clay body chemistry, basic armature construction, anatomy, and clay hollowing and firing technique.