Sculpture

Context shapes sculpture. You’ll study site, scale, surface, form, function, material, intention, and the viewer using each to create portfolio-ready sculptures at a professional level.

In sculpture, representing the human form is essential both as it is and as you interpret it. You’ll work in representational and expressive modes to develop head and figure techniques, gain confidence in shaping ideas with clay, and refine your skills in modeling gesture, figure, and proportion.

You’ll also build the ability to create objects for both beauty and function. Throw cylinders, bowls, and discs on the potter’s wheel. Transform them into sculpture. Explore low-temperature firings like raku, expanding your technical range and creative possibilities.

Technology keeps reshaping the art world—and sculpture is no exception. You’ll learn the concepts and methods behind digital sculpture, creating both organic and hard-surface forms in professional sculpting applications. Explore 3D painting. Build ideas from concept to creation.

You’ll discover the art of papermaking—transforming raw plant materials into unique sheets using both historical and contemporary methods. Then, you’ll shape those papers into works for book arts, sculpture, printmaking, photography, and even wearables.

This is where material meets momentum. Our Sculpture Center features a full wax studio with gating and sprue stations, a slurry tank, and silica bins—built for bronze casting from the ground up. Kilns are electric, computer-programmed, and come front- and top-loading. Slab rollers, extruders, a pug mill, and a dedicated glaze technology lab give ceramic artists full control over surface and finish. Add in a vented spray booth, grinding stations for bronze patinas, a mold-making room, and expansive student studios—and you’re ready to sculpt at scale.

Located in South San Francisco, our bronze foundry is forged for full-process casting. Multiple crucibles, a hydraulic crane, burnout kiln, sandblaster, and a Laguna Raku kiln give students the tools to take molten metal to masterpiece. Precision casting. Raw power.

Forge. Weld. Fabricate. Our metal shops are fully outfitted—from TIG, MIG, stick, and gas welding setups to machine lathes, milling machines, grinders, and formers. Whether you’re bending steel or building components, this is metalwork with muscle. Sandblasters and patina stations complete the cycle.

Design meets discipline. In our woodshop, students shape both natural and synthetic materials using band saws, jointers, miter saws, shapers, routers, and more. Two dedicated wood lathes. Two sanding rooms. Four SawStop table saws for zero compromise on safety. Plus: a foam lathe for experimental builds. Every cut counts.

Form. Print. Push scale. Our 3D Printing Lab lets students prototype and produce with both PLA and resin-based printers—small-run or oversized. It’s the merge point of digital design and dimensional reality.

7 Skutt Electric Kilns
Mid-sized, top-loading, and digitally controlled, these Skutt kilns offer precise, repeatable firing for bisque, glaze, and mid-range ceramic work—ideal for student projects.

1 Large Cress Side-Loading Kiln
Our largest electric kiln features a side-hinged door and spacious chamber, perfect for large-scale or high-volume firings, with digital precision and ergonomic loading.

2 Toki Test Kilns
Compact and fast, the Toki kilns are built for glaze tests and small projects—speeding up experimentation with quicker heat cycles and efficient results.