Mardie Rees
Sculpting the Portrait
We're excited to welcome Mardie Rees to DaVinci Studios.
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In this dynamic and rewarding 4-day class, Mardie will guide you through the process of sculpting a human face from a live model. Through insightful lectures and live demonstrations, you’ll learn to observe and capture the subtle shapes, planes, and unique character of each facial feature.
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Working in water-based clay on a fixed armature, students will sculpt a life-size portrait while exploring essential tools, proportion, structural anatomy, and foundational techniques. The class begins with blocking in the underlying skull structure, then progresses step-by-step into refining individual features—eyes, nose, mouth, and more—guided by ongoing demos and personalized feedback.
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By the end of the session, you’ll take home not only a finished clay portrait but also a deeper understanding of facial features in three dimensions.
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Date & Time
September 21-24, 2026 ​
9:30 am to 4:30 pm
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Location
DaVinci Studios
104 Industrial Blvd.
Suite #113
Sugar Land, TX 77478
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Cost
$825 + model fee
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Mardie Rees
Learn more about Mardie below !
Please email us to be placed on the waiting list. Director@the davincistudios.com
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More about Mardie
Mardie Rees is a fine artist and figurative sculptor who is native to the Pacific Northwest. Rees earned her BFA from Laguna College of Art and Design. She creates life-size bronze sculptures for museums, hospitals, schools, and collectors. Mardie is recognized and awarded by National Sculpture Society, Portrait Society of America, Allied Artists of America, the Marine Heritage Foundation, and the prestigious Art Renewal Center International Salon Competition. She is a two-time recipient of the Beverly Hoyt Robertson Memorial Award and a multiple award winner in Portrait Society of America’s International Competition & Exhibition. She is an Elected Member of National Sculpture Society and has Signature Status with Portrait Society of America.
Mardie has won many accolades for her emotive sculpture and her most recognized works include Soul of the Forward and Faithful, a WWII U.S. Marine Raider Memorial currently housed at the National Museum of the Marine Corps; as well as Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, a monumental size work including a cape of fifty roses. She is represented by Nedra Matteucci Galleries in Santa Fe, and TH Brennen Fine Art in Scottsdale, Arizona.
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Born into a creative household, her childhood was spent sewing garments and building homes, drawing pictures and visiting museums. In her adolescence, her family uprooted and moved to Ecuador to facilitate community development. The years spent in Latin American culture sparked her artistic expression and became a quest, a way for her to balance the familiar and the foreign. This broadened worldview set her on the path to be an artist for life. Her delight in all people and their stories is the lens through which she captures relationships and the fundamental duality of human life: bitter and sweet.
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Mardie now lives in Gig Harbor, Washington, with her husband and their three children.
