One of the first steps is to get photos of the person to be sculpted. That way he or she does not have to sit the entire day.
Depending on the format for the specific school/event/class, Kulzer generally starts with a quick slide show about how bronze statues are made. Then he demonstrates the process he uses to make portraits while actually making one right in front of participants' eyes.
Sometimes students work with small lumps of clay during the hour as Mr. Kulzer sculpts on his block of clay. Student questions are answered while they experience the tactile enjoyment and relaxation of modeling clay.
It takes about 6 hours of live sculpting to get a rough likeness. For an additional fee, Mr. Kulzer will finish the portrait in his studio and return it to the event coordinator or sitter.
"...at 7:30 a.m. he takes four photos of me and tells me to come back in a couple of hours... throughout the school day I stopped back about 5 times... sat in a chair and turned left... turned right looked straight ahead... each session lasted about 2 minutes... And in the mean time he is instructing his classes on clay modeling and letting them work with clay... The class can see him sculpting on a smart screen and right next to them... as I sit there kids come by and watch him work... I had no idea how this was done and the kids were seeing it first hand..."
Gregg Kragenbring,
Atwater Elementary Maintenance
Contact Gerard for more information: gk@kulzerdesign.com