Press Release: Upcoming Classes in Photography and Sculpture at Cotuit Center for the Arts

Cotuit Center for the Arts has all the dimensions covered this summer with classes in in 2D and 3D. Sue Simon will be teaching an introductory class and a workshop in photography, while Neil Grant will be teaching how to sculpt with a slab roller and how to sculpt a portrait in clay.

Simon will teach a one-day workshop in Macro Photography on Saturday, August 25, from 11:30 AM to 5:30 PM, and a Photography 101 class on Tuesdays from August 29 to September 25 from 10 AM to noon.

Macro and still life photography depend on learning to pay attention to detail. The class will explore different types of lighting, composition, and backgrounds, and develop the student’s ability to visualize macro and table-top shots that will surprise the viewer.

Students will first learn the technical and compositional skills necessary to create macro and tabletop shots. Later, they will take out their cameras and use objects, produce, flowers, and a variety of types of lighting to practice the skills they learned.

Photography 101 will focus on equipment and techniques to show students how to use controls, adjustments, and their abilities to take and make better pictures.

Simon, who taught middle-school English and American history for nearly 40 years, is a fine art photographer. Her work has been exhibited at the Cape Cod Art Center, where she is a juried member, at Cotuit Center for the Arts, the Creative Arts Center in Chatham, the Plymouth Center for the Arts, the Griffin School of Photography, Cahoon Museum of American Art, and the Moose Hill Audubon Gallery in Sharon.

Neil Grant will teach two workshops as part of Cotuit Center for the Arts’ Atelier Series. Sculpting with a Slab Roller is offered Monday through Friday, August 13 to 17 from 9 AM to 12:30 PM. Portrait Sculpture with Neil Grant takes place Friday through Sunday, August 24 to 26, from 10 AM to 4:30 PM.

Sculpting with a Slab Roller is a class for beginners and those who want to get a little off the beaten track with their art projects. The slab roller creates large sheets of uniform thickness, and the possibilities are endless. Students will learn to make beautiful and unique clay pieces that cannot be achieved simply by hand or with a potter’s wheel.

Grant will demonstrate the underlying principles of making slab-based pieces and students will then participate in a guided step-by-step project or create their own individual project, with Grant’s expert guidance.

Portrait Sculpture is for beginner and intermediate level students who want to learn how to create realistic portraits in clay. Grant demystifies the process of sculpting a head with his step-by-step method. Using a model and other materials as references, students will learn how to look at a person, simplify what they are seeing, and sculpt a realistic likeness.

“Sculpting can be great fun but to get a realistic likeness, you need to learn a process. My goal is to teach you that process in a series of logical steps. The atmosphere of the class is fun and friendly, but at the same time you’ll be learning solid techniques you can take away with you,” said Grant.

Grant is an award-winning English representational sculptor who combines technical skill with storytelling and humor. “Sculpture is how I put my thoughts out into the world, and so I try to make sure that they are ideas worth sharing,” he said.

More information on these classes and others may be found at artsonthecape.org or by calling 508-428-0669. Cotuit Center for the Arts is at 4404 Route 28 in Cotuit.

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What:

Cotuit Center for the Arts Photography and Sculpture Classes

Where:

Cotuit Center for the Arts, 4404 Route 28, Cotuit

When:

Varies. See artsonthecape.org for details.

Admission:

Varies. See artsonthecape.org for details

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