Sydney Sculpture School

A blast from the past! We recently did some maintenance in the Hunter Valley, on a memorial for miners who have died in Northern District coal mines.
I sculpted the portrait of Jim Commerford and the superb relief sculptures were done by Carl Merten and Joan Relke.
The 1,800 or so names of those who have died are inscribed in granite, with the youngest being 11 years and the oldest 80 years.
I personally knew one of those on the wall, who lost his life at 25 after leaving his job in town for an opportunity to better provide for his family. He had a young daughter and a son on the way when a portion of the mine roof fell on him.
After leaving school I spent 12 years in the mines as a fitter and picked up some invaluable skills for what I do now, as well as some character building experiences.
Mining is a dangerous industry and injuries go with the territory. I had my share and a score of near misses. My uncle worked at the same mine. He survived being buried alive in a cave in, but sustained life long injuries and probably PTSD, but PTSD wasn’t really a thing 30 years ago. I wouldn’t set foot in a hole in the ground now for any amount of money 😂

Enrolments open for term 7, starting next week (Monday 2nd September for five consecutive weeks)
Classes on offer are:
Wednesday 6:30-9:30 pm and Saturday 10-1 pm Fees are $450 excluding materials. Please email as soon as possible if you wish to join one of our classes. Beginners welcome.

Enrolments open for term 6, starting next week (Monday 29th of July for five consecutive weeks)
Classes on offer are:
Wednesday 6:30-9:30 pm and Saturday 10-1 pm Fees are $450 excluding materials. Please email if you wish to join one of our classes. Beginners welcome.

Enrolments open for term 5, starting next week (Monday 24th of June)
Classes on offer are: Tuesday 11-2 pm (pending numbers)
Wednesday 6:30-9:30 pm Saturday 10-1 pm Fees are $450 excluding materials. Please email if you wish to join one of our classes. Beginners welcome.

Term 4 enrolments are now open in our Crows Nest studio.

Term 4 starts next week (the week beginning Monday the 20th of May for five consecutive weeks).
Classes available are:

Tuesdays 11-2 pm with Kim Elliott
Wednesday evenings from 6:30-9:30 pm with Jody Pawley
Saturdays from 10-1 pm with Jody Pawley

Fees are $450 excluding materials - due this week. Please email if you wish to secure a place in one of the classes.
3 Bruce Street Crows Nest 2065 - ground floor

We recently had a couple of VIP’s do the introductory sculpting session. My talented Niece Brooke and her friend Holly.
They both did a great job.

Enrolments open for term 2 beginning the week of 11th March for five consecutive weeks. We have Wednesday 6:30-9:30 pm with Jody Pawley (1 place available) Saturday 10-1 pm with Jody Pawley (2 places available)
Kim Elliott will run her Tuesday 11-2pm class when we have the numbers, so please let me know if you want to do this class. For ease of booking, please email, text or call of you wish to sign up. Fees $450 for the term excluding materials.

Classes are back on. Term 1 will start the week beginning Monday 5th February for five consecutive weeks. There will be Wednesday 6:30-9:30pm and Saturday 10-1pm available. Fees due by Monday to secure your place. For ease of booking, please email, text or call me to book in. The impressive sculpture pictured is by Bain. Photos don’t really do this piece justice and I will do a separate post on Bains approach.