Begin your sculpture journey at Crescent City Clayworks
Sculpture Classes in New Orleans
Every class in our sculpture program is designed with beginners in mind, because everyone deserves a real starting point in one of the world's oldest art forms. Whether you're brand new to sculpture or returning after time away, our beginner-friendly classes in New Orleans offer a welcoming place to learn hand-building, figure sculpture, and portrait sculpture fundamentals at your own pace, guided by instructors who want to help you fall in love with the craft.
Experienced sculptors are just as much a part of this program. Our classes offer a chance to return to the fundamentals with fresh eyes, refine technique, and push toward more advanced sculpture work, whether that's live model figure sculpture, animal sculpting, or clay portraiture. Wherever you're starting from, our New Orleans sculpture studio is built to meet you there and help you grow, one class at a time.
Beginning
Animal
Figure Sculpture
Portrait Sculpture
With Louis Marinaro
Figure Sculpture
Live Model
Tuesdays, 5:00–7:30 PM | 8 Weeks | Begins September 29
Explore portrait sculpture in clay through dedicated studio practice and focused anatomical study. Designed for beginners and artists seeking a stronger foundation in figurative sculpture, this eight-week course combines hands-on instruction with lectures addressing the form and structure of the cranium, face and neck.
Under the guidance of sculptor Louis Marinaro, students will make a three dimensional self portrait using water based clay. The instruction will include anatomical lectures, demonstrations and methods to achieve observational accuracy. The course will cover essential technical processes, including armature building, and modeling techniques.
Our Instructors
Josh Mintz
Mintz received his Bachelors of Art from Rhodes College in 2015 and his Masters of Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2019. He has shown nationally in Memphis, New Orleans, New Hampshire, New Jersey, San Francisco, Sacramento, and Texas. In 2022, Joshua was awarded The Helis Foundation prize for Best in Show in the Ogden Museum of Southern Art’s Louisiana Contemporary, curated by Valerie Cassel Oliver. Additionally he has been artist-in-residence at Joan Mitchell Foundation (New Orleans, LA). He currently lives and works out of New Orleans.
Sculptor
Louis Marinaro
Louis Marinaro holds an MFA from Yale University and has spent decades as a professor of sculpture at the University of Michigan's Stamps School of Art & Design, where he now holds the rank of Professor Emeritus, with an additional appointment as visiting lecturer at the New York Academy of Art. His work is held in public collections across the country, and exhibited in galleries and museums both nationally and internationally. Now based in New Orleans, he co-founded IBIS Contemporary Art Gallery in the Arts District, and continues to work daily in his New Orleans studio.
Sculptor
Ceramics
Savannah Rae Philips
Savannah Rae Phillips is a potter and sculptor whose favorite subject, hands down, is animals. She studied sculpture at Southeastern Louisiana University, where she built the technical foundation that now shapes both her pottery and her sculptural work. Through her work, Savannah explores food production and the ethical, sustainable relationships between humans and animals, using clay as a way to open conversations about the cycle we all share, the beauty of the animal, the process, and our place alongside it. She teaches both adults and kids, bringing that same sense of wonder and responsibility into every class she leads.
This itinerary embodies our expertise, aligning each session with measurable outcomes that optimize engagement, facilitate collaboration, and sustain momentum for continuous improvement.