Life School

We invite you to join us on this journey of creativity, rejuvenation and self discovery. This adventure intensive offers a weeklong scuplture retreat in intimate settings in the Tuscany region of Italy. Come  to enjoy deep companionship and experience the joy of travel, nature, fabulous meals, amazing wines, music and most of all... art. This is a chance to experience the exquisite joy of allowing your inner artist to blossom, under the hot Tuscan sun.

Picture this in your mind's eye: amazing dinners, regional wines, great music, fun people, a pair of gorgeous art models… and a chance to learn how to sculpt. This workshop will be held in a scumptious villa in Tuscany between Siena and Florence. We will have our own full-time studio, sculpting from the same clay that Michelangelo used... and you can even have your work fired and shipped home at the end of the intensive. We will also make excursions in the area to view sculpture of Renaissance masters. Come with us and enjoy authentic Tuscan food and wine from the area and the lush scenery that you only find in Italy.

Imagine the joy of sharing and exploring Tuscany, experiencing the rich Italian culture and warm welcoming people.

Imagine the best food, centuries old art, and music in one of the world's most beautiful places.

Imagine giving yourself a retreat that finally nourishes your artistic soul.

Imagine that this dream can become reality.

 

About Sculpting in Tuscany

Classes will be held twice a day, three hours each session, working in clay from a pair of live models.  Learn how to use sculpture tools just like the Italian Masters.  Each participant will learn an easy-to-follow process of sculpting the portrait, figure and abstract compositions using water based clay. The sculptural foundation of the human form will be presented in a new and exciting visual language consisting of simple shapes and planes combined with anatomy. Plus, there will be plenty of one on one attention, as feedback is geared to the needs of each student individually.  You will learn to sculpt a portrait capturing the likeness in a step by step method and to sculpt the figure using classical techniques. The instructor’s inspiring teaching style incorporates techniques for building powerful compositions that capture dynamic tension and movement with delicious surface textures… all while having a really fun time

You will be immersed in a creatively charged atmosphere where we will eat, breath and sleep art with the goal of igniting inspiration to last a lifetime. The event is open to all levels of experience. You will be guided through an effective approach that starts with the conception of a visual and emotional idea and learning how to respond to the work as the piece emerges.

If you yearn to fulfill  your artistic potential, this will be a truly wonderful experience for you.

 

Testimonials

This "Creativity is Spiritual" travel adventure is produced by The Spirituality Network. Here are testimonials from satisfied participants in past adventures:

"The trip had a wonderful balance of everything I love, from personal meditation training to exploring the world. The Spirituality Network is an excellent host and went over and above to make sure everyone was well taken care of. Our trip was informative, adventurous, and exciting as well as healing, relaxing, and spiritual, and I would recommend it to anyone that wants to see that part of the world through a deeper lens." - Debra Giusti, Founder of Harmony Festival

"An amazing trip! I've always wanted to go to Thailand, and this excursion seemed ideal. Excellent accommodations, delicious natural foods dining, medicinal, beautifying and relaxation spa treatments in ideal lush and peaceful settings. The trip producers hit the right combination of healing experiences along with the excitement of big city life in Bangkok, exotic beaches and unique cultural excursions while surprising us with hidden treasures only local tour guides know." - Dr. Russell Des Marais

About the Instructor

Nina Markman is a graduate with Highest Distinction from the esteemed California College of the Arts and Design, and has had the fortunate experience of having studied under some of the most prominent figurative artists of our time, including Viola Frey, Tebbe George, Martine Vaugel and Manuel Neri.

Of her work, Red Hawk, author of Self Observation: The Awakening of Conscience (Hohm Press, 2010) plus 6 books of celebrated poetry, has said, "Nina Markman is one of the finest sculptors of the Feminine Form in the United States. Her work has managed to do that miraculous and rare thing: to bring clay and bronze to life and put a static form into living motion. Her work is elegant, eloquent, elegiac, and extraordinary in its grace, suppleness of line, delicacy of touch, and boldness of vision. She is brave in her approach to the human body; her work is unashamed with its nudes, both male and female, and provocative without being confrontive or tasteless or indelicate. Her touch with the human face is elegant and magnificent, capturing mood, tone, and character with such subtle line and form, such superb feeling and delicacy. I am a great admirer of her work as it is quite unlike any other sculptor working in its ability to glorify female beauty without making it unrealistic; her nudes are bold, imaginative, and free in their poses. Some are classically posed, but most are in a position of ordinary grace and independence of spirit. I believe this is a mirror of Nina Markman's own freedom of spirit and personality. Her work is as fine as any in the country, inspiring, informative, philosophical, spiritual, and down-to-earth. It is self-aware work which allows the viewer to be moved and touched in the feelings, a rare talent found in the great sculptors, which invites direct participation from the viewer on a very visceral level. One is moved to love this work."

Here is her artists statement: “Many artists know that the creation of art is really about learning to see. With sculpture, I have also found a new way to touch and feel and emote. By combining the modality of figurative sculpture with the power of emotion, kinetics and energy, my work strives to find the source and meaning of sensuality and passion. My goal is to capture emotions and experiences common to us all... things like love, beauty, the hunger of desire, the weight of regret, and our eventual redemption. I’m definitely not a conceptual artist, giving you something abstract to contemplate. Instead, my work is the celebration of emotional reality, and I hope you find it honest, compelling and accessible.”

 

Terms and Prices

Your tuition includes:

• 10 - 3 hour sessions of hands on sculpting
• A pair of live models for each class
• Shared double room in a charming villa
• Daily traditional breakfast and most dinners, including wine
• Daily coffee break/snacks during studio class

Material Fee Includes:

• Daily model Fee
• Clay
• Sculpture stands with armature for portrait work
• Sculpting boards for figurative and abstract work
• Exclusive use of studio day and evening

However, please note that the tuition does NOT include: airfare, sculpting tools (we can sell you a beginners kit of sculpting tools for $175), lunches (we encourage you to get out and meeting locals), museum entry fees, sight-seeing, and independent meals.

The program also includes the following activities:

• Morning yoga
• An excursion to Siena
• Winery tour with tasting
• A day trip to Florence to see David by Michelangelo

There will also be an optional visit to Damanhur over the weekend.

Of course, friends can always come as non-participants (see pricing below) or sign up for a nearby course in photography or tai chi.  They would share a room with you and all meals and excursions would be open to them. Upgrades for single rooms or suites are available.

Price and Fees: $2,995 p/p plus $200 materials fee. $300 discount for LifeSchool Enrolled Students.

Non-participant fee: $2,295.