Most people love being creative, given the chance it allows them a wonderful freedom to express themselves in colour, shape and form. Paint and paper are usually readily available but using clay is a different matter, many people haven’t used it since they were in school, although when they come to a workshop they admit that the art class and playing with clay in particular was one of their most enjoyable lessons.

The Sculpture Workshop started running creative workshops 14 years ago enabling people of  the community  in towns and villages around Cornwall to be creative, it very soon became obvious that the workshops were creating much more than wonderful pieces of art, people were excited and enthused at the method of teaching and at the level of achievement each person had reached. The workshops renewed the dormant creative spirit enough to allow most participants to want to continue.

It motivated them to get involved with other arts or community projects or it simply gave them a creative outlet which they continued to pursue in their own home, getting their partner or children involved in the creative process, moreover it gave them confidence in their own creative abilities.

Background

The key to our creative workshops are that we don’t just use clay, we also supply a creative aid called a ‘skullature’.  The ‘skullature’ is simple piece of equipment but it is how this simple idea can enable people of all abilities, age and culture to reach tangible creative levels  never before imagined that is truly ground breaking and could possibly change the way creative lessons are taught throughout the education system .

Richard Austin has been a professional sculptor since 1986 , he also teaches sculpture through a series of creative workshops in schools , colleges , community groups etc.

In those early classes Richard noticed that most people had a very real creative block brought on by a fear of failure or embarrassment when it came to working with clay, they either didn’t have a clue where to start or they made an attempt but were quickly disillusioned when they failed to create anything which in their own eyes was ‘good’. For most people this is a crucial point , if they have tried and failed, it will be very difficult to encourage them to be creative again.

Over the past years Richard developed and patented a teaching aid to enable people to easily unlock their creative potential and give them a form of safety net, in reality taking away or at least softening that fear of failure. This development  is called “The Skullature”  For more information on ‘The Skullature’ visit the website and click on workshops

In essence what the skullature is doing is giving the individual a ’head start’  in the creative process, by applying clay to the Skullature a realistic and suitably ‘good’ sculpture can be achieved  within that crucial first attempt, once that barrier has been crossed and the imagination and self  confidence of the individual has been given a huge boost the creative process can be moved forward .

Air drying clay is used so no firing is necessary but it can be hardened and sealed to become a permanent work of art.

Tried, Tested and very successful.

The creative workshops have been tried and tested with groups  ranging in age from 7 years up to 87 years with people who have never touched clay in their lives before and never considered themselves to be in the slightest creative . Also with  groups of creative semi – professionals.

The workshops are also of great benefit to members of the community with some form of physical or mental health issue.

The primary focus within our creative workshops  is upon “soft” outcomes, such as participation, acceptance, social understanding , communication, self motivation, enhanced sense of self, ability and value.  The improved of self confidence within the participating group can lead to a greater interest in the creative process, which in turn can lead to the participants becoming involved in creating  large pieces of public art.

Art for the community …by the community.

It works because there are no wrong answers, no one way of doing things, and all approaches are correct within the usual behavioural boundaries.  Often, these workshops create much more than sculptures alone, the atmosphere can promote lively discussion on wider social issues, it can also lend itself to quiet contemplation, problem solving as well as group supportiveness and can provide a forum for conciliation which can bring troubled communities closer together.

Group workshops are person centred and flexible but are grounded within a structure that encompasses ethnicity and cultural diversity, age similarities, differences, public and private faces, disability and image awareness.  Workshops  encourage and enable  people to develop their own powers of focus and so promote and build further levels of confidence in dealing with their own personal issues, which in turn will enable social inclusion to the point of pursuing a positive life path.

Following on from the positive experience of the creative workshops participants can progress further by joining additional workshops on Creative Enterprise. These workshops cover how to start designing, making and selling craft work. Details available on request.