Sculpture workshop courses

Booking a sculpture course with me

Booking a sculpture course with me

The quickest way to book your first sculpture course with me is via Craftcourses.com. There you will find a number of courses and dates. You can book immediately.

There are two basic types of courses. Wire sculpture courses, which are usually formed with copper based wire. The wires are formed with hand tools. These are soldered or brazed together using an electric soldering iron and lead free solder. These are smaller sculptures. This can be an individual or group course.

The other type of sculpture courses are for larger welded sculptures. In this course students are taught basic art welding, tig and ark. The metal is formed and shaped using hand powered desk top bending machines to create curves and bends which are welded together to form simple or complex 3D sculptures. Students will form and weld a basic sculpture to take home if they wish.

Anyone coming to one of my courses by train, there is a free Pick up and drop off from my local main line railway station which is Liphook in Hampshire , Liphook railway station is a 50 minute travel time from London Waterloo .

Evening classes for local students

I also run evening classes for local students based in or near post code GU35. This is a hybrid course with studio time plus home work. For more info join my Facebook sculpture group, click on link below .

Help younger students

I am also able help younger students get a community grant of £1,000 to pay for one year’s tuition with me including tools and materials, for more info contact me direct.

If you know what you want to make, for example, a steel armature for a figurine or animal of any size, I offer supervised workshop facility on a day rate. I will assist you to do any welding if necessary. A human life size armature say for a fairy, can be made In one day with two students. Please contact me direct. Or book a course here .

FAQ

Currently one day course for one person is £200.

Yes, my youngest student is 15.

It depends how much detail you put in the wings. A basic dragonfly would take me about two days. You will need to practice and your dragon fly will be as good as mine.

About 200 hours, spread over 6 months.

I have been making about 30 years.  Teaching for 10 years.

The short answer is yes , £1,000 grants are available for students from your local council, that cover tools materials and my tuition. As my company grows I will be looking for a full time apprentice .

I am based in Whitehill Bordon , Hampshire UK , Post code GU35. My work is on display at “The Shed”  Prince Phillip Park.

Commissions and other services

I like commissions, I love the challenge. These tend to be larger steel sculptures, which can take six months to make from drawings to finished product. Using a design and manufacturing method I have developed I am able to scale up or down the size of my sculptures, within reason.

I work closely with the clients, first producing drawings, then sometimes a smaller model, so that the client can see exactly what they are going to get before they commit. I then ask for my estimated costs of materials up front.

My home town is Whitehill Bordon. I was asked by the local Community Trust who manage our woodland if I could make a very large bee 1.5 meters long. I accepted this commission without hesitation even though I had never made a sculpture that large before. After making some detailed drawings and a 300mm model bee, the Whitehill and Bordon Community Trust gave me the go ahead and cash upfront to buy the steel rod and tube.

I scaled up my drawings and reproduced them on a large sheet, this is my template.

If you or your organization would like to commission this large fairy

I also had to invest in a bending machine that could bend and roll 16mm solid bar and 22mm steel tube, then my Chinese welder burnt out halfway through.  I learnt a lot making the giant bee which is now on permanent display in a tree in my home town.

The next year I was asked by the Whitehill and Bordon Regeneration Company to make a life size Roe deer for our new town centre. Made in high grade 316 stainless steel mounted on large engineered oak plinth which I also made.  The Roe deer can be seen at “The Shed,” in the new town centre Prince Phillip Park, in Whitehill Bordon, probably my finest work so far.

I would really like to make a giant fairy archer or similar, as a commission or a community make. I am in the process of making a giant fairy head which is 80cm (32inchs) high. When her body is made, she will stand 6.4 meters (21.3 inches) tall.

If you or your organization would like to commission this large fairy or something similar, please get in touch for more info and prices.

My course reviews

I love teaching, passing my skills on to other people is a joy, and gives me great job satisfaction. Here are some reviews from my students. please click on link .

I struggle with welding and have tried other courses before. Roger managed to identify that I am having problems with my eyesight - I'm off to buy glasses! He ran through the necessary equipment - I now want to buy a TIG welder and he was patient as I struggled with technique.I can now see that I need a great deal of practice to get to a level where I can achieve the kind of projects that I am hoping to achieve. It was certainly a worthwhile experience.
Phil Maud
I really enjoyed my day. Roger greatly helped me to develop my understanding of working with different materials, and power settings. And I enjoyed learning about MIG welding too.I found the whole experience quite inspiring and definitely worth the money. Thank you Roger
Paul Galloway
Roger was a great teacher and looked to make the course personal to me. Whilst I wanted to make a dragonfly I was more interested in learning as many techniques as I could during the day. So we concentrated on making a very delicate dragonfly wing, which incorporated basic and more advanced techniques as well as other techniques needed to complete the dragonfly. All of which would be applicable to other projects. Roger was generous with his knowledge, his supplies and equipment. He has given me the confidence to try the more challenging shapes. Lots of ideas to move forward with!!!!

I really enjoyed my day. Roger greatly helped me to develop my understanding of working with different materials, and power settings. And I enjoyed learning about MIG welding too.I found the whole experience quite inspiring and definitely worth the money. Thank you Roger
Susan Pryke