Foundation Material and Making

Approaches to Sculpture

Foundation Material and Making is an exciting introduction to various approaches to sculpture and wider three-dimensional practice. Using materials close at hand and easily accessible, the course helps develop an investigative approach to making. You will build key creative and technical skills, alongside visual and contextual awareness of recent sculptural history. 

By learning through doing, you will explore a wide variety of materials and creative processes. You’ll create sculpture, drawing, installation, textiles and photography, as you expand your knowledge and skill set and are encouraged to look critically at the materials in your local environment.   

The course is structured into five sections, each focused on a particular theme; Assemble, Modular, Tension, Scale, and Shaping. You will undertake a range of three-dimensional exercises and projects to develop your ideas and understanding. By exploring key theories and methods surrounding contemporary sculpture and wider three-dimensional practices you’ll develop your skills as a sculptor. 

^{Image credit: Helen Fitzhugh, OCA student}

What will I be studying?

Taking this course will develop your ability to make mixed-media sculptural objects, site-specific projects, and installations.  As well as this, you’ll cover more traditional object making skills using materials such as wood and clay. Throughout, you’ll keep a learning log to help you document your journey, taking down notes, and helping you to develop skills in making, observation and criticality. 

You’ll learn from the work of other artists to inform how you go about making sculpture. From the repetition and abundance in the works of Tara Donovan, or those of Roman Signer which looks at gravity and balance, you’ll gain a thorough basis to work from. Using skills of observation, you’ll think about how and where to place, and install your works for best effect, considering their size and scale.

Course outcomes:

On successful completion of the course you’ll be able to:

● Demonstrate basic technical skills for working in three-dimensions.

● Employ appropriate assembly and construction techniques for a variety of

outcomes and compositions.

● Document and present ideas for making sculpture.

● Understand key ideas around contemporary sculpture.