4-Day Fritz Hoppe Sculpture Workshop at the Clear Lake Arts Center

Sculptor Fritz Hoppe will teach an introduction to modeling and sculpting for metal casting, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, February 19 – 22 from 10am – 5pm at the Clear Lake Arts Center. There will be a one-hour break for lunch each day. This four-day workshop will take students through the step-by-step process of creating a finished sculpture in modeling clay. Finished sculptures can exist as they are in clay form or as finished sculptures that can be used as molds for casting in metal or other mediums. The focus of this workshop will be on teaching an introduction to modeling and sculpting in clay with an overview of the process of preparing works of art for the foundry. The workshop fee is $400 plus $90 for materials. Topics Hoppe will be covering are how to build a structurally sound armature, how to accurately measure and scale for success, types of materials, tools and techniques, and the basic processes for molding. Beginners and advanced casters are welcome! For an additional fee, there will be an opportunity to send finished works to the foundry to be cast. Class size is limited. To register, call 641-357-1998 or email clac@cltel.net. The Clear Lake Arts Center is located at 17 South 4th Street in downtown Clear Lake, IA. About the Instructor: Fritz Hoppe's began his career in early childhood. As the son of full-time artists, he had been exposed to the sculpting process at a very young age. This allowed Fritz to develop his talents into skills while learning techniques and processes necessary for creating high quality pieces. Spending time in the studio taught Fritz the engineering aspects of sculpting, such as using accurate measurements, scaling, and building structurally sound armatures. This knowledge gives Fritz an edge in sculpting because applying these skills to the processes allows him to produce any project, no matter how complex or large it may be. Now he has developed some of his own creative techniques in the process of creating bronze sculptures. In 2012, at age 18, Fritz produced his first bronze piece, the quarter size Rocky Mountain Elk. Although he had previously sculpted many small pieces in clay, Rocky Mountain Elk was the first of his works cast in bronze. Later that year, Fritz went on to produce Bison Hunter, having it cast in bronze at age 19. Then in 2013, he had produced two more sculptures, including Primitive Man (a contemporary work) and his best selling piece, Plains Hunter (a realistic work). Pieces from each of these additions have found their way into people's homes.