new video footage of the GCA & BAA

A view into the cast hall and sculpture studio, where Beaux-Arts Atelier students work alongside those of the Grand Central Academy of Art, the ICAA's fine arts division. Instructors Angela Cunningham and Mason Sullivan guide students in the sister arts of drawing and sculpture as they work from the ICAA's historic plaster cast collection.

Inside the Sculpture Atelier at GCA

While uploading the video for the last blog post, I noticed this one about our very own sculpture atelier at GCA.  This is what you will find on any given day you might walk through the studio.  Check out the other videos on Beaux Arts Atelier's youtube channel to discover more inspiration! 

workshop week report: part 2: Ecorche sculpture and drawing

Students who have been taking ecorche spent the first two days of the week finishing up their sculptures with Mason Sullivan.






For the next 3 days, a large group of students studied ecorche drawing and anatomy with Andrew Ameral who came all the way from San Francisco to teach this workshop. Ameral was the director of anatomy at the Florence Academy of Art for 7 years and has a wealth of knowledge on this subject. We were so psyched to have him at GCA!

the following examples of what we did in class were done by Carla Crawford:

We had a male model for half the day and a female for the other half. On the first day we did simple block-in drawings like this.


On the second day we studied the skeleton and drew on velum laid over the drawings from the first day.


On the third day we studied the muscles and drew those on another piece of velum laid over the figure drawing.

Here is Carla's male drawing:

New Sculpture Workshop with Mason Sullivan

The Portrait Inside and Out June 14-18 (5 days) • 10am - 5pm


Look at yourself in a mirror. Just under the surface of the skin lies the skull. Many of the unique and distinctive features you observe are created by its form. The arrangement of the muscles of the face both reveal and hide the form of the skull beneath, and the action of these muscles can exhibit the full range of human emotion.

Recognizing skeletal features in the living model, and the understanding of the muscular action that creates emotional expression is an immense help to artists of all kinds who choose the portrait as their subject.

The workshop will begin with an introduction to the anatomy of the head. Both skeletal and muscular features will be reviewed. Students will have the opportunity to copy a skull in clay. During the final days we will apply our studies to sculpting from a living model. more info & how to sign up

Ecorche Class

Mason Sullivan teaches ecorche class every Thursday afternoon. Most of the students taking this class are in their second or third year at GCA.


Each week we prepare beforehand by studying anatomy books and drawing the bones or muscles we will sculpt in class.


Last week we finished the muscles of the face and began on the muscles of the spine. Most students are coming in for at least one evening or saturday a week to stay caught up.

NEW ECORCHE CLASS AT NIGHT!

Instructor: Mason Sullivan

Where: GCA Sculpture Atelier

When: Thursdays, 6:30 - 9:30pm

$600 (16 classes, January - April)

Students will first sculpt the skeleton, and study the underlying proportions of the human body. Then students will study the deep origins of the rhythmic qualities present in the body by adding successive layers of muscle to half of the sculpture. The sculpture concludes with the most superficial muscles creating the forms we are used to seeing every day. Along the way, students will complete drawings of the individual muscles and bones to solidify their knowledge.

At the end of the class, participants will have gained an expanded knowledge of anatomy in three dimensions, a notebook full of drawings and handouts for future reference, a completed ecorche sculpture, and most importantly, a system of study to fuel the student's future interest in the subject.

This class is open to the public

casting the sculptures

Here is the sculpture crew working on their casts today:


Danny Grant applying the second layer of plaster


Rebecca Gray with her sculpture encased in plaster


Angela Cunningham cleaning up the seams


Angela Cunningham ready for action


Mark Porter is way behind everyone else, he's just starting the process of inserting thin metal pieces that will create a seam in the cast


Mason Sullivan, making sure everything is under control

Final day of Sculpture before casting

Mason Sullivan's morning sculpture class just had their final day with the model today. Tomorrow they will be learning how to make plaster casts of these sculptures, I'll post more about that soon!


by Mark Porter (detail)


by Angela Cunningham (detail)


by Angela Cunningham


by Rebecca Gray


by Justin Wood


by Danny Grant


by Mark Porter

Mason Sullivan Sculpture Demo

Here are some photos of instructor Mason Sullivan finishing a sculpture that he started with the morning sculpture class.

Daily Figure Sculpture, week 2

Here are photos from the morning sculpture class at the end of week 2. Taught by Mason Sullivan, this class meets for 4 hours every morning and is part of the core program curriculum. Most of the students in this class are painters, but we have a few who are strictly sculpture students.

Sculptures in progress

This month I will be posting photos of the figure sculptures as they progress. These are from day 6 of the class which meets 4 hours each morning with Mason Sullivan. Students in this class are mostly painters and will spend a few months doing sculpture in the mornings to deepen their understanding of the human form.