Fall Offerings at
California Sculpture Academy
"Sculpt in Clay" is designed to give students, from beginner to experienced, the satisfaction of creating their own work of art in three dimensions. Students develop the skills to see and understand the human anatomy and represent the figure in their own way.
Adults:
Wednesday mornings, 10 -12:30
Thursday evenings, 7 -10:00
Saturday mornings, 10 -12:30
Teen Portfolio Builder:
Thursdays afternoons, 4 - 5:30
Saturdays, 10 -11:30, 1 - 2:30, tent.
"Turn Stone into Art" gives students the techniques to carve stone like the Italian Masters. Students start with a maquette ( a small, to scale model), then transfer their ideas to stone to finish and mount their piece.
Adults:
Tuesday mornings, 10:00 -12:30
Teens:
Fridays afternoons, 4:30 -6:00
Additional classes also being added.
Call 818.735.0700 for details.
Working the Clay at
California Sculpture Studio
by Gordon Durich
To be an artist is to believe in life,” said the great artist Henry Moore. His philosophy on art and life graces the front door of the new California Sculpture Academy in Westlake Village. Its owner, renowned sculptor John Storojev, shares this same philosophy passionately.
The artisan is the force behind this unique new venture and addition to the Ventura County arts scene. Part studio, part art gallery, the California Sculpture Studio is a mini culture center, according to visionary Storojev. “I founded the California Sculpture Academy based on the fact that anyone can sculpt and express themselves in the three dimensional field,” he offered.
Bronze, copper, wood, metal, stainless steel and plaster are mediums that are transformed by budding Rodins at the eclectic fine arts studio, just a stone’s throw from the Four Seasons Hotel.
“I have three things going on here,” explained Storojev, “a small gallery that includes not only my work, but works by other artists, such as Theodora Ilowitz, who is also an instructor, a working area for classes for adults and teens in clay and stone (taught by Ilowitz), and a space for cultural discussion groups.”
The latter, a dialogue on how art and culture effects the individual and their work, will be offered for no charge.
“I’m trying to enliven the scene here, and give it a new energy. There are many talented people living in this area, and this will be somewhere they can come and express themselves, in a relaxed way.”
Storojev has been an instructor at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks for the past eight years in sculpture, art and drawing, and is well versed in his new role. For many decades, the Storojev name has been visible in creations and commissions.
“The clay in which I was formed was a quasi-Russian one. I was born in China, raised in Russia and lived in Japan before moving to America,” Storojev said. “The Russian community in which I was reared encouraged the artistic in all forms. They believe it accounts for the whole person.”
As a youngster, Storojev dabbled in sculpting. “I would actually sculpt the soft butter on my mother’s dining table.”
His commissions range from his most ambitious to date, a nine-foot copper fountain in the foyer of a private home, to a recently completed work for the Jennifer Diamond Foundation that is on display at the Norris Hospital Center at USC. This particular piece is also a fountain, and Storojev's hands have created many diverse and beautiful works for both corporate and private appreciators.
Storojev thrives in his new Westlake Design center, which incorporates the California Sculpture Academy do as the brochure says, “Get your hands on it!”
