Sculpture Video Program Entices Students with Popular Dinosaur

Professional sculptor Charles (Chuck) Oldham has just released a new video program detailing the steps to sculpting a realistic stegosaurus dinosaur. Due to its extravagant display of armored plates and starring roles in classic movies, the stegosaurus ranks among the most popular and recognizable dinosaurs, and provides the ideal subject matter for a sculpture lesson.

From his studio, Oldham demonstrates the process of making the stegosaurus from start to finish in this hour-plus video designed to teach beginners the basics of sculpture. Using nontoxic modeling clay that never dries, he applies additive and subtractive methods with a few key tools to achieve the animal's realistic stance and appearance. Throughout the lesson, Oldham continually instructs students, offering encouragement and tips, saying "your best sculpting tools are always going to be your hands."

Through his "Learning Sculpture" series, Oldham hopes to share the value of teaching children to sculpt animals like stegosaurus with parents and teachers. In contrast to a passive experience like watching television, Oldham believes that "activities like sculpture help to create new neural connections in a child's brain. It also develops eye-hand coordination that will significantly benefit children later on."

Oldham adds, "Many students truly enjoy learning about animals, especially dinosaurs. The process of creating something that holds their attention allows them to gain an appreciation and understanding of the animal's form and biology, with the result that sculpting an animal goes far beyond a simple art project."

Oldham began sculpting as a child. In the past decade, he was named one of 8 "Titans of Bronze" by Arizona Art Life Magazine. Early in his career, he was selected to work with the Cousteau Society to create a Commemorative Humpback Whale sculpture and designed a number of Presidential and Head-of-State gift porcelains. He also created hundreds of original sculptures for the fine gift industry.

Teachers and homeschoolers looking for complete, uncut "Learning Sculpture" programs can buy directly from Oldham's studio by calling 904-430-4330. However, anyone can log on to http://www.LearnSculpture.org or http://www.WhatIsASculpture.com to watch all of the videos in divided segments free of charge and subscribe to receive notice of newly released videos.