The California Sculptors Symposium welcomes educators, artists and students to an energetic, creative environment overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Featuring lectures and demonstrations by premier sculptors; Instructors are experienced in stone carving, wood carving, clay, fibers, life drawing and teach general to advanced sculpting techniques. At the end of the symposium, CSS hosts an art exhibition of participants’ work. We hope you will join us for a fantastic week!

ABOUT CALIFORNIA SCULPTORS SYMPOSIUM

California Sculptors Symposium (CSS) is a 501c3 established in 2003 to promote education in sculpture. This annual, week-long, symposium is held at Camp Ocean Pines in beautiful Cambria, California. The camp is situated on a bluff overlooking the ocean, away from the distractions of daily life. This educational event is non-discriminatory and non-judgmental bringing together about 50-60 attendees and 6-8 professional instructors each year. Throughout the week, lectures and demonstrations on design, technical topics, and professional trade information are aimed at increasing the sculptors’ creativity and expertise. We invite students, artists of all levels, and the general public to gain a better understanding of how sculptures are created. It is a stimulating environment where participants come together to learn and share their enjoyment of working with stone and other media.

The first symposium in 2003 introduced a program that welcomed educators, artists and students to an energetic, creative environment overlooking the Pacific Ocean. CSS continues to feature lectures and demonstrations by premier sculptors. Instructors are experienced in stone carving, clay, wood carving, fibers, life drawing and teach general to advanced sculpting techniques.

California Sculptors Symposium is a welcoming space. Our programs and services are available to everyone, and we will not exclude anyone due to background or national origin, racial-ethnic considerations, sexuality or gender, personal opinions or affiliations, veteran status, or other personal characteristics. More importantly, we aspire to be an equitable and inclusive space for everyone. We are an anti-racist organization, committed to reducing or removing barriers to full inclusion.

2026 INSTRUCTORS:

Figurative Clay

Alexander David S. Peter is a traditional figurative sculptor. He holds degrees from the New York Academy of Art and the California College of Arts and Crafts. Alexander has participated in group shows in New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area and in public art installations in Bristol England. Alexander has taught Sculpture and Artistic Anatomy for local Bay Area colleges and cultural institutions. He is also a former Chair of the Richmond Arts and Culture Commission and a current member of the Richmond Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee of Richmond California. Alexander is also a Diabetes Advocate and Endurance Cyclist.   Alexander works on fine and public art projects and commissions.

Workshop:

Focusing on gesture

This workshop will give you an understanding of the structural and anatomical underpinnings of the human figure and the knowledge to transform small quick studies into more developed, larger finished sculptures. We will work small but with a larger mindset, focusing on joints to create lines of action that create powerful silhouettes and get a viewer’s eyes to move around our sculptures. The goal is to help you make larger finished works that maintain the spontaneity and fluidity of smaller quick studies.

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Amy Brown (born 1982, Marks, Mississippi) is a teacher and soft sculptor working primarily in fabric and found materials. She lives and works in the Bay Area. Amy views fabric as a
comforting medium that allows the viewer to let their guard down and enjoy before interpreting, making her work especially accessible to children and people with limited art experience. Her fabric works include small sculpture, embroidered notes, mixed media installations and quilts.

Workshop:

Inflatable Sculpture

Learn how to manipulate plastic into air-filled sculptures using heat, sewing and adhesive, along with various inflation and surface design techniques.

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Stone Carving

A visual artist, collaborative curator, and arts organizer, Brian Barreto (b. Milwaukee, WI) has exhibited in the United States and Europe. After apprenticeships in Germany and the US, he furthered his studies at the University of WI. Brian hosts the Alluvial Project, an artist-run gallery, forum, and working sculptural Artist-in-Residency program in Rinconada, New Mexico. He serves on the board of the Taos Abstract Artist Collective and is an Artist Facilitator for the Mid-America Arts Alliance. He is represented by the Alluvial Project and Sun & Dust in Santa Fe.

Workshop:

Speed up your Carving with Negative Thinking

The aim of this workshop is to effectively remove material in the quickest amount of time, while still providing flexibility in case of breakage or a change of heart. Targeted for the beginner, although helpful for intermediate or advanced carvers, this workshop will show you how to quickly identify waste/negative space and get to the more interesting aspects of carving– moving away from the dreaded ‘potato phase’ post-haste!. Bring a maquette or a few photo references if you have something specific in mind. I will also teach methods for direct carving which do not require an advanced plan.