Craft a New Year: Sculpting the Clay Animal Mask w/ Nancy Jacobson

Back by popular demand, the Tennessee State Museum’s Craft a New Year: Learning Craft Workshop Series, presented in Partnership with Tennessee Craft, returns in January 2023 with classes in Cherokee basket/mat weaving, book making, weaving and clay. For four Saturdays in January, the Museum will offer introductory classes in accessible and tradition craft mediums taught by some of the top artists and teachers in their fields. Each class is a one-day, seven-hour course designed to get you started in a particular Tennessee craft tradition. Think of it as an opportunity to learn something new … by learning something traditional. All skill levels are welcome, but classes are designed for beginning adults with little or no experience.

Since before recorded time, humans have been intrigued by animal imagery. Their beauty, strength, elegance of movement, fierceness and various other attributes. In this workshop, students will create a sculpted clay animal mask. During the process, they will explore ideas for enhancing the finished project with found objects of the artist’s choosing. This can be fiber, metals, wood, or a bit of whimsy that expresses the artist’s interpretation of their chosen subject.

Nancy Jacobson has a BA from Pasadena College and a Master of Liberal Arts and Science degree from Vanderbilt University. For 10 years, she worked as a high school art teacher in California, Massachusetts, and Georgia. She taught workshops across the U.S. and Canada. In Tennessee, Jacobson joined Cheekwood Botanical Gardens as an instructor and director of education. She also served as an instructor at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Appalachian Center for Craft, and Tennessee Arts Academy. Mid-South Ceramics welcomed her as an artist-in-residence where she taught adult classes and workshops in sculpture. Jacobson participated as a master sculptor in the Tennessee Craft Master Apprentice Program. For 20 years, she maintained a private studio in Sparta, Tennessee, from 1996 – 2016.

Source: Submitted