Life School

This is a chance to experience the exquisite joy of being an artist for an evening. Picture this: delicious appetizers from the Tuscany region of Italy, fine wine partaken in cheap glasses, great music, fun people, an art model… and five hours with a block of clay.

And don't worry about creative block, participants 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.

Nina Markman’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.

The event is open to all levels of experience because it’s really about loving the experience of creativity. 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. The food and wine provided will be of gourmet quality, and the group will be encouraged to share their process as the evening unfolds.

If you yearn to be an artist, or return to your artistic potential, this will be a truly wonderful experience for you.

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.”

Logistics: Studio is in Marin County, class size of 20.

Cost: $125 per participant, includes model fees and use of tools. 20% discount for LifeSchool Enrolled Students.