From our everyday coins to the astonishing Parthenon friezes, bass-relief sculptures are created by initially drawing on a flat clay-slab and then building up the figure/image to produce a 3D appearance.

Pronounced “bah-relief”, (a term which originally stems from the Italian phrase basso-relievo and directly translates as low relief), this technique has been used for centuries by cultures right across the world to capture and immortalise pertinent images or symbols.

Here on the Sculpture Course I teach the basics of this technique and supply information on simple mould-making, which can be carried out on a kitchen table at home for anyone who wishes to render their clay sculptures in a more durable material (plaster, cold-cast-bronze, bronze - or even chocolate) as keep-sakes or as presents for friends.

​