Sculpting and Painting the Figure

August 31st-October 26th

This workshop series will be offered in conjunction with our annual Bottled Spirits exhibition, which features ceramic vessel forms from all over the world.  Traditionally, the majority of these ‘bottles’ are done in a humorous figurative mode.  The human figure will be the springboard for kids to explore ideas about faces, bodies, people, images and clothes, as well as using their creativity in sculpture and painting. 

Students will create a small ‘figure’, using both two- and three-dimensional processes.   They will construct an armature for a bust, build up the form with clay, sculpt facial features and paint the bust.  The finished busts will be mounted on a wooden base, which the students will then paint ‘the rest of the body’ onto.

Additionally, each class will work as a group to create their own ‘class bottle’.  Students will be introduced to an exciting polymer clay technique called ‘caning’, which is a glassblowing technique for creating intricate cross-sectional designs.  Each participant will create their own one-of-a-kind design and apply it to a glass bottle form.  The finished bottle will be a wonderful addition to your school’s art collection!

Jewelry

November 6th-December 28th

Students who attend this workshop will get a tour of Holidazzle, an exhibit that covers a wide spectrum of craft media and includes, folk art, turned wood objects, quilts, baskets, ceramics, glass, jewelry and much more.  After viewing  this multimedia exhibit students will learn the art of jewelry design by creating several pieces of jewelry from polymer clay and wire.  Inspirations for design will come from various cultures across the globe, centering around the theme of holidays.

Book Making

January 16-March 15

Students will have a unique opportunity to view a wide range of art work by  Kentucky artists who have been awarded the distinguished Early Times Scholarship.  Every year since 1988 KACF has awarded approximately four scholarships, generously underwritten by Early Times , to Kentucky craftspeople.  The Early Times Sampler exhibit will feature new work by past and recent winners of scholarship award.  Students will closely look at artists who concentrate in bookmaking and paper making, as they will be making a series of art books during the hands-on workshop.  First, the history of books will be covered showing how the scroll became an accordion format book, which in turn then became a codex. Examples of each will be shown. Next, students will make their own accordion format flag books which resemble pop-ups when opened. We will then write fortunes, favorite mottos or sayings in them.

Casting

April 16th-the End of School

This workshop is in conjunction with The Glass Vessel: An International Invitational.  Students will have the opportunity to view studio glass art from artists around the world and will specifically take notice of casted glass vessels as they will follow a similar technique during the art-making part of the field trip.   In this workshop students will learn the multi-step process of mold-making and casting a piece in plaster .  They will begin by working with Plastiline, a reusable non-drying clay, by making a form from which they will make a plaster mold.  The mold will then be prepared for making a cast in plaster.  The cast piece will then be broken out from the mold and mounted on a small base.