Class at the Middlebury Studio School

Demonstrated by Don Perdue, Sculptor – Educator

The planning, making and casting from plaster waste molds will be covered in this workshop. In addition to demonstrating the overall process, participants will be engaged in the hands-on steps of creating mold section divider walls, mixing and applying the plaster warning & reinforcing coats, incorporating external mold reinforcing braces, opening, cleaning-out and prepping a fresh mold, pouring a plaster casting, and chipping-out a fresh casting. Attendees are encouraged to bring an example of their work in clay to discuss how to make a waste mold from it. Lists of mold making materials and suppliers will be provided along with printed copies of the step by step instructions for making a plaster waste mold. This special, in-depth demonstration/workshop will wrap up with a Q&A session.

Bring a bag lunch. Deadline to register is June 12.

Friday, June 22, 9AM-4:30PM, Tuition $185

Visit the Middlebury Studio School for more info or Download Registration form (pdf)

Summer Class at the Middlebury Studio School

Demonstrated by Don Perdue, Sculptor – Educator

Don will demonstrate a variety of techniques for modeling figurative and non-figurative sculpture with plaster. Dos & don’ts of mixing and working with plaster, constructing armatures, and using reinforcing materials will be explained in the process of working on several different size demonstration pieces throughout the session. Demos and hands-on participation will include: plaster mix-ing guidelines and ratios, direct plaster modeling without an armature, basic armature construction, & direct modeling on armatures. Students should plan on bringing working models, sketches, plaster tools and a bag lunch for a midday discussion about using plaster to give form to their ideas.

Printed reference materials as well as step by step instructions and tips for modeling in plaster will be provided. Deadline to register is July 17.

Friday, July 27, 9AM-4:30PM, Tuition $185

Visit the Middlebury Studio School for more info or Download Registration form (pdf)

Summer Class at the Middlebury Studio School

Demonstrated by Don Perdue, Sculptor – Educator

The focus of this demonstration workshop will be helping studio sculptors, teachers and art students choose and use pourable casting resins to make hollow castings from rubber molds. We will begin with a discussion about the several types of resins, curing times, and necessary working conditions. The discussion will be followed by demonstrating mold prepping, preparing any reinforcing needed for making particular types of castings. With the mold & reinforcements ready, we’ll move on to mixing and pouring a resin casting, allow for curing time, remove the casting from the mold, clean up the raw casting, go over a few surfacing & finished techniques, and bring it all together by deciding on a particular mounting solution. Students should plan on bringing an example of their work that they want to discuss casting. Printed reference materials as well as step by step instructions will be provided. Bring a bag lunch. Deadline to register is July 31

Friday, August 10, 9AM-4:30PM, Tuition $185

Visit the Middlebury Studio School for more info or Download Registration form (pdf)

Sculptor Don Perdue will be offering classes this spring at the Middlebury Studio School – please call 802-247-3702, email middleburystudioschool@<gmail.com or click here to learn more and enroll.

Sculpting in Clay – Instructor, Don Perdue

Students will continue refining applied modeling and clay use techniques in conjunction with learning more about the compositional & design principles of sculpture. Both figurative and non-figurative approaches are included. Students will be encouraged to explore working in both full round and relief techniques. The objective being to realize well composed pieces which express unique ideas that actively involve an interplay of positive forms, negative space, light & shadow ,and the dynamics of surface texture. The dual goals being to create pieces that can be fired directly and/or used as patterns for making molds and casting in clay, plaster or cement compounds. Students may purchase clay from MSS and will need to buy their armature, mold making and casting supplies individually.

• Session 1: Sat, Apr 7 & 14 from 1-3:30PM< & Apr 21 & 28 from 10AM-12:30, Tuition $120
• Session 2: Sat, May 12-26, 10AM-12:30, Tuition $90

Saturday, February 10, 1-2:30PM

This demo will highlight the hands-on techniques Don will be teaching in his upcoming studio classes at the Middlebury Studio School.

Don will be showing several “Terracotta” methods of sculpting with clay that make it possible to fire the resulting pieces when completed or use such a piece as a pattern for making a mold and subsequently casting it in clay, plaster or other media. In addition, he will be showing how to make and use a basic armature for modeling sculptural works in either water clay or non-drying plastilene along with examples of his own work cast in clay, plaster, cast stone, and bronze.

Don Perdue presently has works being exhibited in the Annual Holiday group show at the Jackson Gallery at Town Hall Theater and recently participated in the Town Hall Theater’s Great Cherry Woodcraft Exhibit last October with his Summer Sylph cherry wood assemblage/carving.

Don’s work has been exhibited in art centers, galleries, museums, and is included in private and public collections. In addition, he has made a variety of commissioned pieces ranging from portraits, to large outdoor site-specific pieces, to editioning a half life-sized Canada Goose in Flight series of bronze castings in cooperation with the National Audubon Society.

Sculptor Don Perdue will be offering classes this winter at the Middlebury Studio School – please call 802-247-3702, email middleburystudioschool@gmail.com or click here to learn more and enroll.

Direct Sculpting in Clay – Instructor, Don Perdue

Jump in and create your own hands-on sculpture. Learn and refine the techniques and design principles of sculpting with clay. In these workshops we will be exploring both figurative and non-figurative sculpture in the round as well as the various forms of relief . The objective will be to realize well composed pieces that express each participant’s unique ideas through using direct, hand-building techniques so that the resulting pieces can be either fired or used to make piece molds from during the spring sessions. Tuition includes 12.5 lb. of water clay.

• Weds afternoons, 1:00 – 3:30 PM
• Session 1, Jan. 10 – 31 Tuition $120

Modeling In Clay – Instructor, Don Perdue

These studio sessions will focus on the techniques and considerations of modeling full round and relief sculptural ideas in traditional water clay and plasticine clays, as well as designing and constructing armatures for working in clay. During Session One, the focus will be on choosing the right clay body for your project along with the armature techniques & materials you will need to support the clay piece you have in mind, constructing your armature and laying up your piece in clay. Session Two will focus on developing the skills with tools and materials essential to developing each learner’s personal abilities. Through experience, each sculptor develops many personal variations in using materials & techniques to achieve one’s own language of forms and style. Resulting projects should be considered as possible patterns to make waste and/or piece molds from during the spring season when it will be possible to work with plaster.

Tuition includes 12.5 lb. water clay. Plasticine and armature materials will need to be purchased separately.

• Friday afternoons, 2 – 4:30
• Session 1, Feb 2 – Mar 2, Tuition $120
• Session 2, Mar 9 – Mar 30 Tuition $120