With chiselled touch, the stone unhewn and cold becomes a living mould.
The more the marble wastes, the more the statue grows.

- Michelangelo

For many, who have nurtured the dream of becoming a sculptor one day, the life and work of Michelangelo have been a source of constant inspiration. If chiselling stones and marbles into life-like statues gives you the high, then here?s where you can learn all about making sculpting.

The Jamshedpur School of Art in Kadma tops the list. One of the premier art institutes in the steel city, the school offers a four-year diploma course in making sculptures. Candidates need to be above 15 years to enroll on the course, which integrates drawing classes.

According to Ashok Kumar, instructor at Jamshedpur School of Art, the course teaches clay and terracotta sculpting. ?We use clay in the beginning because students need to be taught about the material used. At a later stage, we teach the students how to sculpt statues with cement, plaster of Paris, wood and even fibre glass,? says Kumar.

Admission to the course begins in April with a fee of Rs 300. The school charges Rs 60 every month. According to Kumar, in the first year, classes are conducted for three months. During the following three years, classes are held for four months. The classes are conducted throughout the week.

The Fine Arts Heritage Institute at Adarsh Nagar in Sonari offers a course on sculpting, which is part of a 10-year diploma in painting. ?The exhaustive course includes fine arts, commercial art, sculpting and graphic designing. The first three years are called nursery years. The following seven years comprise the senior years. During the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh years, students are also taught sculpting,? said Diganto Shee, sculpture instructor. Admissions will start in the first week of April. Classes are held every Sunday. The course is primarily aimed at children, but young professionals can attend the hobby classes conducted by the institute.Students in the nursery section have to pay Rs 50 per month. In the first and second year of the senior section, the students are charged Rs 80 per month. Students in the third to seventh years pay Rs 100 per month. Those interested can contact the institute on the mobile phone number ? 9431344349.

Rabindra Bhavan in Sakchi offers an art course, the entrance test for which is held in June. ?It is an integrated art course. There is no separate course for sculpture. We have no provision for chiselling statues out of stones, but we teach students to carve models out of wood. At a monthly fee of Rs 125, students can attend classes during any time of the week. The institute is open on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday,? said L.I. Singh, instructor. The institute can be contacted on the number ? 2435514.

Kalamandir in Bistupur offers a month-long course between September and November. The workshop is conducted free of cost by tribal artisan Guntha Layek, whose forte is stone and wood carving. Those interested can contact the Kalamandir authorities on the following number ? 2422648.

First hand

A long way to go

L.I Singh, instructor at RabindraBhavan, is adiploma in fine arts and craft from Vishwabharti Kala Bhavan, Shantiniketan. A former Tata Steel employee, Singh feels sculpting is yet to catch on as a hobby and a profession with the youths in the steel city. “At
Rabindra Bhavan, we try to organise training camps for students on a regular basis to generate awareness among youths about the art form,” said Singh. He added that the workshops also aimed at providing budding artists with a platform to showcase their works.