The Wallace Master Sculpture Program is supported by a generous gift from Martha Wallace Pellett. Master Sculptor Program Sculptors-in-Residence demonstrate the sculpture process to the visiting public, work on pieces they have in process, give lectures on their work, and teach workshops on a variety of subjects. Since 1999, Master Sculptors have been selected by invitation each year and serve to further advance Brookgreen’s relationship with working sculptors.
As of November 2019, there are a few more workshops to finalize.
For a printable PDF of this information click here
2020 Residencies, Workshops, Lectures, and Events
Residencies
Mar 21-Apr 4 – Spring Sculptor in Residence, Richard Blake, FNSS
Exhibits in the Rainey Sculpture Pavilion
Jan 25-Apr 26 – Exquisite Miniatures-traveling exhibit
May 9-Jul 26 – Rosie Sandifer Retrospective-traveling exhibit
Aug 8-Oct 25 – National Sculpture Society 87th Annual Awards Exhibition-traveling exhibit
Nov 21-Jan 3, 2021 – Annual Holiday Exhibit
Lectures, Demonstrations, and Events
January 25 – Exquisite Miniatures Gallery Talk with Wes and Rachelle Siegrist, 2:00, Jennewein Gallery
March 10 – Huntington “3-in-1 Day” Celebration, ticketed event, Atalaya in Huntington Beach State Park, purchase ticket at state park
March 28 – Public talk/powerpoint by Sculptor in Residence Richard Blake, FNSS, 3:00pm, Lowcountry Auditorium, call for reservation, 843-235-6034
April 25 – 2020 Brookgreen Medal debut and public talk/powerpoint by sculptor Walter Matia, FNSS, 4:30pm, Wall Lowcountry Center Auditorium, call for reservation, 843-235-6034
May 9 – Rosie Sandifer Retrospective Gallery Talk with Rosie Sandifer, 11:00, Jennewein Gallery
June 24-28 – Curator’s Circle travel program to Loveland and Denver, CO, $2,000 plus airfare and hotel (includes admissions, most meals, ground transportation), contact Terry Egan, 843-979-6076, to register
July 13 – Share Your History on Brookgreen’s Birthday, 1:00-4:30 pm, Lowcountry Auditorium, must call for reservation, 843-235-6034
The exhibits and most lectures, demonstrations, and events are free with regular admission. Additional lectures and programs are planned that relate to temporary exhibitions in the Rainey Sculpture Pavilion and other events of the Master Sculptor Program. Check the website for further information, www.brookgreen.org.
Workshops
Feb 18-22 Animals in Bas-relief with Rod Zullo, FNSS, $650 plus materials’ fee
Students will learn to model the bas-relief in clay and cast it in resin. Coloring or patination techniques will also be taught.
Mar 9-13 Passion of the Portrait - Creating the Portrait in Clay with Susan Wakeen, $650 plus materials fee and model’s fee
Please join us for an intensive 5-day study of how to design, construct, and sculpt the portrait in clay. We will start with a step by step process to bring the portrait as quickly as possible to its proper proportions. The focus will then be on a very careful study of the regions, planes, muscles, and forms of the head, neck, and shoulders. Students will learn the key “bony” landmarks and structure with an overview of the anatomy of the skull. As you learn the techniques of measuring and observation, it is also important to understand that the art of sculpting the portrait is equally important. There will be discussion and demonstrations throughout the five days. The workshop concludes with a discussion about the mold-making process as well as the different methods and materials to cast with. It is suitable for beginner to advanced artists.
Mar 30-April 3 The Power and Beauty of the Female Figure with Spring Sculptor in Residence Richard Blake, FNSS, $650 plus materials and model’s fee
This workshop will stress the governing principles which facilitate sculptors creating a reclining and seated female figure. I will share my insights of the figure, the female anatomy, and the spotting of color to create a dynamic sculptural composition. Students will be encouraged to see and think of the body’s landscape in terms of juxtaposed forms, weights, rhythms, and balance in capturing the character and expression of the model. I’ll demonstrate the punctuation of lights and darks in creating a sculpture or, to quote Rodin: “The Art of the Hole and the Lump.” The class will work from a live model. These sessions will be augmented by illustrated lectures and hands-on demonstrations. Water-based clay will be used to construct an 18-inch female figure. Figure armature will be assembled in class with materials furnished by Brookgreen Gardens.
Apr 27-30 Animal Sculpture with T. D. Kelsey, FNSS, $550 plus materials fee
Good sculpting is a mix of expression and reality. Students will learn how to capture the essence of an animal while remaining true to its anatomy.
May 5-7 Painting Outside from Life (Plein-Air) with Rose Sandifer, FAAPL, FNSS, $450
This is an opportunity to paint with an award-winning studio and plein air master. Students may use the medium of their choice: oil, watercolor, acrylic, or pastel. Rosie Sandifer will paint her demos in oil. The group will meet in front of specific sculptures so that paintings might include the settings of the gardens, landmark trees, and water features. Works will be reviewed both indoors and outdoors, discussing the creation of each artwork. Rosie Sandifer’s retrospective exhibit of paintings and sculptures will be on view in the Rainey Pavilion, May 9-July 26.
Jun 8-12 Beyond Repose: Sculpting the Human Form in Motion with Bryan Rapp, $650 plus materials and model’s fees
This workshop is perfect for the beginning student, as well as others interested in exploring alternative methods and sculpture fellowship. The workshop begins with a guided tour of existing works within the Brookgreen collection to examine how the architecture of the human body responds to movement; in particular, we will look at how sculptors before us have executed gesture, balance, weight, and sometimes exaggeration of the human anatomy to tell interesting and believable stories. There will be a brief discussion on selecting an appropriate pose, followed by a demonstration of how to build and scale/proportion an armature. There will also be daily instruction and demonstrations of other methods and rendering processes as we progress through the week. We will have discussions on the world of sculpture; the artists informing us, the materials, methods, and technologies available to us, and problem-solving. Students will use photos and other reference materials, and a live model to create their own concepts and sculptural compositions using an oil-based clay. Each student will receive individual attention and stylized instruction tailored to their needs throughout the week. Later, students will also create an alginate mold, and a hydro-stone casting of their hand to take home as a modelling reference.
Aug 31-Sep 4 Make Your Own Brookgreen Medal with Heidi Wastweet, FNSS, $650, plus materials fee
A single-sided art medal is a bite-size project that can be done in four days. On the first day, Heidi Wastweet will take students around the grounds to take their own reference photos. Then there will be two-and-a-half days of sculpting and a half day of mold-making. For an additional fee of $100 to cover the cost of casting, patina, and shipping, she will send your piece to a foundry and ship to you a finished bronze medal. Those who don't want a bronze can take home a plaster cast.
Oct 5-9 Birds in Sculpture with Sandy Scott, FNSS $650, plus materials fee
The class begins with a discussion of bird anatomy, the principles of aerodynamics, and how to achieve the illusion of movement in sculptures of birds in flight. Students will learn how to construct an armature for blocking-in birds in flight. Sandy Scott will help students determine the difference between a sculpture that is technically adequate and one that has spirit and life. All aspects of modeling in oil-based clay will be explored and beginning students are welcome. Students will learn the importance of assembling strong, meaningful shapes and how eliminating unimportant details can create the bird’s essence. Students will work from photography, drawings, field guides, and videotapes of birds in flight. Above all, armature building, assembling reference for a specific species, aerodynamics, anatomy, and creating art is the focus. Sandy has instructed bird sculpture for over 30 years and is recognized as one of America’s leading wildlife artists.
Oct 12-16 Mold-making with Trish Smith, $650, plus materials fee
Learn the process of making a simple piece mold with a master mold-maker. Bring completed, small sculptures in oil-base clay with no undercuts from which to make a mold. Heads, small animals, or small birds with folded wings are ideal. If you do not have a suitable sculpture to bring, sculptor Trish Smith will work with you on the first day of the workshop to model a figure to mold.
INSTRUCTOR BIOS
Richard Blake’s education in art started when he was nine years old. He enrolled at the Samuel Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he studied drawing and painting. At the age of fifteen, Blake changed from painting to sculpture and quickly became totally immersed in all facets of sculptural expression. Later he competed and won a full scholarship to the Tyler School of Fine Arts. While a student at Tyler, Blake was awarded the Stewardson Prize by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts for his competence in figure modeling. After graduation, he continued his studies independently in Europe and Central America. Currently, Blake resides and works in the scenic Amish countryside of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He recently retired from West Chester University where he taught sculpture and life drawing. Blake’s sculptures have been included in over 100 international and national exhibitions and are represented in many private collections and public outdoor commissions. His work has received numerous honors and awards from the nation’s oldest and most venerated art institutions including the National Sculpture Society and the National Academy of Design. He is a Fellow and a past-president of the National Sculpture Society.
T. D. Kelsey grew up on a ranch near Bozeman, Montana. He worked in rodeo for many years in rough stock events and team roping. Following that, T.D. trained and showed his own cutting horses for several years. He was a commercial pilot for United Airlines until 1979 when he resigned to devote full time to his art. His interest in and promotion of Texas longhorn cattle, maintenance of a wild horse herd on his ranch, passion for Africa and its wildlife, and concern for the conservation of wildlife worldwide have inspired many of his works. An avid traveler, he has visited countries on every continent except Antarctica, drawing and sculpting people and animals from all corners of the world in addition to his western subjects. He is known for intense, impressionistic sculptures that capture the spirit of his subjects. Kelsey's work is found in private and public collections worldwide. He is a member emeritus of the Cowboy Artists of America, Fellow of the National Sculpture Society, and was honored with a one-man show at the Thomas Gilcrease Museum where his work is on permanent display. He also has sculptures on permanent display at the Pro Rodeo Hall of Champions Museum, Brookgreen Gardens, Charles M. Russell Museum, National Museum of Wildlife Art, Colorado Historical Museum, Texas Interpretive Center, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Briscoe Museum, Old Town Museum in Elk City, OK, Owensboro Museum of Fine Art, and two museums in Spain.
Rosie Sandifer received her formal training in commercial art at Southwestern State University in Oklahoma, art education at Texas Tech University, landscape painting at the Art Students’ League in Colorado and portrait and figure painting at the Ray Froman Painting School in New Mexico. She began her career as a portrait artist in the 1970s, evolving to sculpture in the 1980s. After moving to the Loveland-Fort Collins area of Colorado, she both painted and sculpted. Now she is an avid plein-air and studio painter, enlarging her small sketches into landscapes of the western states and Europe. In Santa Fe, Rosie Sandifer lives on the southern edge of the Rocky Mountains surrounded by the color and drama of the New Mexico landscape. She has traveled to paint on location and to visit the world’s important museums in England, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Russia. The Tretchakov, Sorolla, Tate, Musee de l’Orangerie, and Brookgreen Gardens are among her favorite museums.
Sandy Scott trained at the Kansas City Art Institute and worked in animation before turning her attention to etching in the 1970s and sculpture in the 1980s. An elected member of the National Sculpture Society, she has won awards from the National Academy of Design, Allied Artists of America, Pen and Brush Club, American Artists’ Professional League, Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, and a Gold Medal for sculpture from the National Academy of Western Art. In 1998, the Gilcrease Museum honored Scott with a retrospective and she is an elected member of the National Sculpture Society. Her work may be seen in numerous public installations and museums, including Brookgreen Gardens, and she was commissioned to sculpt an eagle for the Clinton Presidential Library. She participates in many annual juried exhibitions, including Prix de West, Autry, Northwest Rendezvous, Cheyenne Frontier Days Museum Show, and the National Wildlife Museum Fall Exhibition. A veteran instructor, Scott teaches at Scottsdale Artists School and Brookgreen Gardens, and is the subject of a book, Spirit of the Wild Things: The Art of Sandy Scott.
Trish Smith, a graduate of the University of Arizona, has been Studio Director for artist Sandy Scott for the past 30 years and is a master mold-maker.
Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, Susan Wakeen was raised by creative parents who encouraged the pursuit of an art career. A favorite part of her early years was drawing and painting. She attended Central Connecticut State University, majoring in math and psychology. For many years, she taught Special Education in Brookline and Waltham, Massachusetts. Although she always had sketchbook and pencil close by, the reality of being a fine artist seemed unreachable. However, she started with evening courses at the Boston School of Fine Art. Later, Joshua Graham and Dorothy Lepler would become influential in teaching Susan discipline, observation, and control. She debuted her sculptures and dolls in New York City at the International Toy Fair. She was instantly recognized for her work and was awarded "Doll of The Year" for her sculpture, Jeanne. Susan was offered a position at Hasbro Toys in Pawtucket, Rhode Island as senior designer and contributed greatly to the growth of the doll design department. She began creating sculptures of babies and formed her company – Susan Wakeen Doll Company, Inc. For over 25 years, Susan was recognized by her peers and collectors as one of the top artists in her field, being honored with more than 48 nominations and awards in the industry for "Doll of the Year" and The Award of Excellence. She traveled to Spain, ltaly, and China to perfect her artistry. Susan was awarded First Place at the International Portrait Conference in Atlanta for her sculpture, Carla, and has received awards from the Salmagundi Club, National Sculpture Society, and other arts organizations. Susan's sensitivity and style expressed in clay and bronze are currently in the homes of collectors and museums throughout the world.
Heidi Wastweet is a leading American medalist and sculptor specializing in bas-relief bronzes. In conjunction with a wide variety of private mints she has produced over 1,000 coins, medals, tokens, and rare coin replicas since 1987. She was chief engraver for Sunshine Mint for 11 years and lead designer/sculptor for Global Mint for five years. In 2001, she opened her own studio, relocated from Idaho to Seattle in 2003, and then to the San Francisco Bay area in 2013. She serves as president of the American Medallic Sculpture Association and is former president and founder of Seattle Sculpture Guild as well as a member of the Federation Internationale de la Medaille. Her work has been shown in Coin World and Coinage magazines and she exhibits her non-commissioned work with the National Sculpture Society in New York and the Bellevue Art Museum in Washington. She served two four-year terms on the Citizen's Coinage Advisory Committee for the US Mint in Washington, DC. Medal and coin credits include a seven-coin set issued by the Sultanate of Darfur, Asian Hall of Fame Award Medal, the Dean's Award for Seattle University School of Law, Alumnus Award for Stephen F. Austin University, Mayo Clinic Visiting Physicians Medal, Stanford University Alumni Medal, and Island Records Willie Nelson portrait. In addition to medallic art, she has also created public art including a commission for the University of Washington's Medal of Honor Monument in Seattle and eight bronze relief panels for 12-foot-high church doors at St. Paul's in Pensacola, Florida.
Rod Zullo was born in 1965 in Bucks County, PA. When he was five, his grandmother, a painter, encouraged his parents to send him to private art lessons with a well-known Buck’s County impressionist. A consummate student of art, he continually searches for his own truth and language. For 20 years, Rod Zullo traveled throughout the world as a fisherman guide for everything from blue marlin to brook trout. He also wrote magazine articles for leading sporting publications. His travel abroad exposed him to a variety of art styles, mediums, and messages. By studying past and present masters, he has explored sculpture as a metaphor of the human condition. With the guidance and mentoring of sculptor Floyd T. DeWitt, Rod Zullo has learned to see beyond the literal and narrative to create work that is contemplative and expressive yet conscious of traditional fundamentals. His goal is to see the abstract forms in nature and express this in sculpture by marrying the components of discipline and creativity to express a concept rather than an image. He is a Fellow of the National Sculpture Society.
WORKSHOP POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Registration and Payment
Registration is accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. A registration fee of $150 is required upon registration. A student is not on the class list until the fee is paid. After attending one workshop, students may receive a 10% tuition discount for attendance in subsequent workshops during the same year. Students are asked to provide a complete mailing address, telephone number, and e-mail address when registering. Using American Express, Visa, MasterCard, or Discover Card, students may register by telephone with Terry Belanger, Tuesdays-Fridays, at (800) 849-1931, ext. 6034, or at (843) 235-6034. Checks are to be made payable to Brookgreen Gardens and can be sent to: Brookgreen Gardens, Attn: Sculpture Workshops, PO Box 3368, Pawleys Island, SC 29585. Contact Terry Belanger, Curatorial Associate, tbelanger@brookgreen.org, (843) 235-6034, for additional information. The full class listing is also found at www.brookgreen.org. A waiting list is established once a class has filled.
Withdrawals, Cancellations and Refund Policies
Withdrawal from a workshop must be in writing and must be given at least 30 days prior to the beginning of the workshop. We prefer to apply the registration fee to a future workshop but, if this is not possible, it will be refunded. If a student withdraws during a workshop, a pro-rated tuition payment plus any fees for materials or models must be paid. The full registration fee ($150) will be kept if a student does not attend and does not provide a written notice of withdrawal by the deadline. Students will receive a full refund if a workshop must be cancelled by Brookgreen Gardens.
Levels of Skill
All workshops require students to have basic familiarity with the subject matter of the class, but most are suitable for beginners.
Supplies, Books and Additional Fees
A supply list of required materials will be sent approximately two weeks prior to the start of each workshop. Students may not bring their own clay to the workshop unless the instructor has specified it. If recommended, students are encouraged to obtain books prior to the workshop. Some materials for workshops are provided and some workshops require models, both for additional fees. In the event additional fees are required, they are determined at cost and divided evenly among the students.
Daily Schedule
Although each sculpture workshop begins and ends at the instructor’s discretion, the schedule is generally 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. on the first day, and 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. on subsequent days, which provides six hours of instruction per day. One hour is allowed for lunch. In order to keep to the schedule, students are encouraged to bring their own bag lunches or to use Brookgreen food service facilities. Small refrigerator, microwave oven, coffee maker, and vending machines are located at the Campbell Center.
Additional Questions?:
Bryan Rapp, Director of the Master Sculptor Program (843) 235-6027
Robin R. Salmon, VP of Art and Historical Collections and Curator of Sculpture, (843) 235-6012
Terry Belanger, Curatorial Associate, (843) 235-6034
Or email the Sculpture Department using our contact form - choose "sculpture" on the Category dropdown.