20 Apr 18'
"Absolutely loved it! I had really minimal sculpting experience from messing around with fimo and sculpey, and no experience working with "proper" clay and I couldn't quite believe that I had actually managed to make something that looked like an ACTUAL animal.
The teaching by both James and Allison is incredibly thorough without being boring, as it is split into three different areas (armature, body, head) so there isn't too much information to take in all at once. It was fascinating seeing how easy it was to pick up the techniques, by the second day I had improved considerably from Saturday morning. James and Allison provide as much or as little help as you want - if you're skilled they'll let you do your own thing, but if you need help like I did they will show you enough to complete what you're trying to achieve without completely altering or over-riding your sculpture.
The studio is fantastic, there's every kind of tool that you could possibly need to create your work, and James' friendly chickens wander around outside. He also made brownies with eggs laid by them which were lovely! I had a really great time learning new techniques, meeting new people and as a bonus now have sculptures of two of my beloved pets!
The teaching has encouraged me to take more courses here in things that I am even less confident in such as wire modelling and drawing/painting. I learned so much in two days with clay that maybe I could learn that much in two days with another skill too!"