The Colorado Academy of Art is on to a good thing

Ever Thought Getting Your Hands Dirty Would Be Fun?

By Mollie Fager, 4-11-06

I’m wearing faded jeans, sipping a glass of red wine, listening to cool jazz on the stereo and doing what else?…staring at a naked woman for the next three hours. Well, okay—so in addition to staring I am also sculpting the woman’s figure into clay, along with about 7 other classmates in a sculpture class at The Colorado Academy of Art in Boulder.

It’s my first class and it’s a little hectic as I build my armature (wire thing that supports your figure which gets heavy with clay), pick out the clay type (oil or water) and then decide which type of figure to do. My choices are torso (apparently the easiest for a beginner), full figure (and I thought that only meant my jean size after the holidays) or a head (hard, lots of detail). My classmate just to the right of me goes full-figure. He’s an engineer, a beginner like me but wants a challenge. Myself? I stick with the torso. I’m all about easy since I’m a little intimidated to be in a sculpture class to begin with.

And then out comes our model in a terry-cloth robe, which she promptly sheds, and steps up onto the modeling platform in an aloof and professional manner. Okay let’s face it. If you’re a newbie like myself, no matter how much you prep yourself for the nude moment when the robe is officially shed you’ve got to work on your game face. I went from a desire to giggle, to an efficient ten second body comparison (hey if she can model, I can model) to the nonplussed state of “you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all”.

Here’s where it gets really cool. Our sculpture instructor, a lovely, intense Romanian woman, begins teaching us about proportions of the body, how to create movement in clay and how to actually start shaping your art piece. My favorite quote from the evening is when she said, “You are not carving the body. You are carving light and shadow into clay to create a body…”. Within one hour of my first class, not only is my torso looking faintly human but I’m beginning to look at the human body from a whole new perspective. And I love it. I’m seeing all the lovely nuances in a shoulder blade or the beauty of the body’s outline against a black curtain. The best part is having soft, cool wet clay run through my fingers. No wonder kids like playdough. This is some fun stuff.

Three hours race by and I realize that I’ve been completely relaxed and having a zen moment with the clay. I could easily have sculpted for another 3 hours. The Colorado Academy of Art prides itself on hiring skilled, talented instructors and then offering classical art instruction in a fun, relaxed and beautiful setting. In my opinion, they’re succeeding. Classes are very affordable and absolutely worth it. Think of it as mental yoga. Be sure and check out their website at www.coloradoacademyofart.com and sign up for a class. You just might get hooked.

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