Sculpture

Sculpture at the University of Kansas

Sculpture is an ever-expanding field where objects, materials, actions, sites, and contexts can be deeply explored. Across this liberated platform, the Sculpture Area attunes our students to the critical, philosophical, and technical conditions that shape the vital landscape of art making today.

Our curriculum empowers students through the development of foundational skills in three-dimensional design while building meaningful approaches to material, object, and site-based practices. Students are encouraged to continue this trajectory towards expansive, interdisciplinary, and individualized approaches to art making and expression. The outcome of such study is a practical set of skills that are transferable to a wide range of career paths within, adjacent to and beyond the field and practice of art.

The Sculpture Area encompasses a porous ecosystem of production facilities, including wood and metal fabrication shops, mold-making and casting areas, a foundry, an open sculpture studio and tool lending library, as well as a robust digital fabrication lab. Faculty and Staff Technicians provide dynamic instruction and hands-on experiences for students while emphasizing safety and best practices while engaging with traditional processes and emerging technologies.

Facilities

Combustion furnace for bronze and aluminum
Ceramic shell and plaster investment,
Steam out mould processing
Sand blast cabinet
Full safety equipment for all operations
MIG, TIG, and Stick welding equipment
Plasma Cutter
Oxy-acetylene Torches
Slip Roller
English Wheel
Drill Press
Sanders/Grinders
Vented patination area
Vented wax working area
Tool Crib with die grinders, clamps, angle grinders, hand tools, etc.

4’X8’ Techno Titan CNC router with automatic tool change spindle
StopSaw cabinet table saw, left tilting motor
14” throat band saw
Rikon 19” throat band saw
Drill press
Delta 40” bed machine wood lathe
Panel saw
Powermatic 8” jointer
Powermatic 20” planer
Machine sanders: large disc/vertical belt, small disc/vertical belt, horizontal belt
DeWalt sliding compound miter saw
Wood finishing supplies and equipment
Sharpening station and equipment
Wood vises and wood working table
Well stocked tool crib: power & manual hand tools:
- Carving: gouges, chisels, adzes, axes, hatchet
- Wood veneer working tools
- Plaster working tools
- Saws, hammers, general manual tools
- Chainsaws, gas and electric
- Wide range clamping equipment
- Measuring and marking equipment
- Worm drive and direct drive circular saws
- Wood turning equipment
- Six DeWalt cordless drills
- Hammer Drill
- Stone Carving and finishing tools
- Electric hand planer, biscuit jointer