Atelier 3-D

I had a really great time in a figure sculpture class at Atelier 3D. I am not an artist and I hadn’t done any work with clay since that one class I took in high school, but Steve made it easy and fun to learn to sculpt. I especially learned from everyone else in the class. I highly recommend the classes at Atelier 3D!

If you are interested in sculpture but don’t have space at home for a fully-​equipped studio, Atelier 3-​D is the perfect place for you. This studio, run by Steve Dubov, has at least one of everything you might need for your sculpture explorations in clay, plaster, bronze, permastone, and beyond. And Steve is very knowledgeable and happy to answer any questions you’ve got.
The people at the studio have a variety backgrounds, skill levels, goals, and aesthetics. But they are all laid back and love what they do. I’ve found this to be a very welcoming place.
I especially recommend Steve’s Sculpture 101 class series. His instruction isn’t heavy handed and in each class you produce a small piece in just a few hours.
An added bonus is that Armadillo Clay Supply is conveniently located few blocks away.

Deja vu. I feel like I’ve been here before… And maybe I had, at the East Side studio tour years before… Or maybe it’s just got a good vibe.
We came for an informal class, Hands-​on Clay. In three hours, Stephen Dubov immersed us in his world of clay and sculpture with his easy, laid-​back teaching style – kind of like tossing mini lessons at us while letting us just try it out and do our own thing with gentle guidance. It’s a totally cool, comfortable atmosphere. People were taking advantage of the Saturday afternoon open studio hours to do all sorts of different projects, from casting to amazing life-​size sculpture.
I hadn’t touched clay in about 20 years… and I missed it. Three hours later, between my boyfriend and I, we’d created a vase each, and I made some crazy bird bowl, that will eventually be the coolest paper clip holder ever! For an additional small fee, we got to fire all of our pieces from the class and they were ready in a week.
Steve is a super-​cool character and artist – now working in glass window shields he runs over the parking lot! – with a subtle, dry sense of humor, evident in the blurbs on the site («fear, loathing, elation & success,» «exercises for healthy obsessions,» «a house full of objects you can’t use»). He invited us to a potluck and put us on an informal e-​mail list, so that we got to tap into the community that surrounds the studio.
So a week later, we came back, and used the modestly priced studio time to glaze our pieces with a little direction. I had a moment of clay-​inspired Zen while Beat Happening was piping from the radio and I was painting my vase the perfect ‘50s aqua blue glaze…
Then they’ll be re-​fired and ready in three days! I can’t wait. And I can’t wait to try out another class – possibly in another medium like bronze. (Classes here:
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Tricky to get to, but really worth it.