Totems - Exploration of Idea and Process
SC-Class | Registration opens Monday, June 30, 2025 12:00 AM EDT
Students will design and build their own clay totems two to five feet. The designs will combine symbols, animals, and personal imagery to tell a story. Use of clay armatures, slab construction, and mold making techniques will be explored. Introduction to presentation and installation.
- Purchase clay at first day of class by cash - $25
David Cumbie
An active member of the Central Florida art community for over four decades, David Cumbie exhibits in galleries in the United States and Europe, and has participated in creating art for public places since 1980. He was the first artist to receive a commission from the Orlando Percentage for the Arts Program in 1984. He creates annual national sports awards for football and basketball, and recently created a linebacker award for the NFL. Cumbie's work was sent to Tokyo, Japan, where his sculptures were used to represent America in the Interflora World Cup 1989. Additional international exhibitions include the Sculptural Mile in Germany, four cultural exchange programs in Europe and traveling art exhibitions in Italy from 1999-2002. Recently he has created mosaic projects at the Community Art Center in Cobá, Mexico, as well as the American Consulate in Merida, and is presently designing a mosaic for Mexico City. Since 1996, Cumbie has been the Crealdé School of Art Contemporary Sculpture Garden Curator, an educational outdoor exhibition which consists of over 60 outdoor sculptures created in Central Florida. As a long-time manager of Crealdé's sculpture program, Cumbie has educated thousands of students of all ages and capabilities in the joys of creating three-dimensional art.
Missy Kimsey-Hickman
Missy Kimsey-Hickman studied art at Seminole Community College under Grady Kimsey and received her B.A. from Colorado State University. From her Uncle Grady, she learned about primitive clays and pit firing at a young age. She has a focus on primitive clay techniques not only as a potter but as a professional archaeologist. She learned to love working in high fire clays from the instruction of the late Crealdé potter Susan Vey. Susy taught with meticulous detail how to hand build and throw. Those core techniques are used in all of her clay pieces. Missy eventually expanded the medium to sculpting under the instruction of David Cumbie. Kimsey-Hickman works the clay with imagination to create new and unusual figures. She also works in multimedia with old and new items using epoxy clay for added features. Her personal belief is that you should always be yourself as an artist and enjoy the process. Her sculpting is anthropomorphic and whimsical. Her personal belief is that you should always be yourself as an artist and enjoy the process.