Face-to-face teaching
2026 kicked-off with the usual Easter-school at Morley College. The Art Junction as well as the Phoenix Brighton summer schools were sold out. If you missed out – or even if you didn’t miss out and have got the bug – join us this autumn or spring. To be first to hear about new dates, sign up to my email newsletter.
Portrait Heads in clay, Art Junction, Billingshurst
Thursdays: 8, 15, 22 & 29 October and Thursday 5 November 2026, 10-4pm each day, £475 (inclusive of materials)
Have you ever wanted to capture someone’s face or expression in a sculpture? Working a portrait in clay from a live model is a really rewarding experience. This course will explore how to observe heads – how to see their differences and similarities, and in turn learn how to translate this understanding into a sculpture which captures a likeness of the sitter. During the five Thursdays a life-sized clay portrait of a live sitter will be built on an armature. This concentrated modelling will be interspersed with fun exercises – with clay and without – to help train up the eye and hands. This course will be taught in a way suitable for those with experience of sculpting in clay and those new to it. There will be an opportunity to hollow-out the heads after the course, for an additional fee. The studios are by the platform of Billingshurst station (on the London Victoria line).
Book here – or contact Marji at Art Junction (info@artjunction.uk).
Expressive Portrait Workshop, Art Junction, Billingshurst
Weekend: Saturday 14 & Sunday 15 November 2026, 10-4pm each day,
£250 (inclusive of materials)
This two-day workshop, with a different model each day, will enable you to exploit the expressive nature of clay. You will get expression, character, emotion and movement in your sculptures. We will use exercises, with and without clay, to build our understanding of how to inject expression into our portraits. You will sculpt a series of smaller, quick portraits (sometimes with the torso) with potentially longer-poses on the afternoon of the second day, producing under-life size portraits. This 2-day course will particularly benefit those with some experience of portrait sculpture but it is also open to beginners. Note – if you want to understand how to build a detailed and anatomically sound portrait in clay, we suggest you join the 5-day summer school. Book here.
Portrait Head and Expression: Sculpture Master Class, Morley College, London
Four day Easter school: Monday 5 April – 8 April 2027, 11-5pm, £365 (£275 concessions)
Are your portraits feeling staid? Do you want to learn techniques to capture more character and expression? This four-day course combines a study of one long life-size head pose across the four days, with smaller, quicker expressive portrait exercises. Learn and develop observation skills, clay modelling, and individual approach focusing on achieving expression in a portrait head in clay. All levels, including beginners. Basic materials included, but extra charge for materials used over £8 materials’ fee. For further details and to book.
Mentoring
Whether you need advice on your first clay portrait head or need guidance and support as you tackle the journey towards becoming a professional sculptor, I can be there for you. It could be a one-off session or on-going support, face-to-face or online. Email me for further details.
Advisory service to statue commissioners
Trying to navigate the creation and installation of a statue? I can provide advice to prevent you falling into some of the pitfalls, including in relation to budget-setting and the process of briefing, selecting and supporting a public art sculptor. Email me for further details.