Artist leads sculpting classes aimed at unblocking creativity

She may be a stone sculptor, but Sharon Gainsburg attempts to reach artists across every platform with classes in her downtown Las Vegas Arts District studio.

Gainsburg teaches weekly stone-carving classes and 12-week workshops on unblocking creativity based on "The Artist's Way," a book by Julia Cameron, in Sharon Gainsburg Studio, 1039 S. Main St . She's an East Coast transplant who made her way to Las Vegas in 2005 and brought her sculpting experience from studios in New York, New Jersey and Italy.

Gainsburg's love for sculpting began when she was a young adult.

"I was about 20, and I saw a sculpture someone did in clay," Gainsburg said. "The (artist) said, 'Come to this class,' where there were clay and live models. I took the classes, and I found that if I wasn't doing the classes, I felt incomplete."

Gainsburg had no previous art experience, but she was instantly drawn to sculpting. In fact, it took some time for the artist to come around to her true love of stone carving.

"I resisted (stone carving) because I knew it was a taking-away process," Gainsburg said. "I didn't have the confidence that I could do it. But (I found) it to be so much more endorphin-producing because you had to physically let loose. In stone carving, I literally fell in love."

However, it was difficult living in an area where stone carvers were scarce. By chance, she ran into a sculptor at an art supplies store in New York City and asked him to critique her work. Though the artist's studio was two hours from her home in New Jersey, she made the trip a couple of times a week, attempting to perfect her skills and gain experience under his direction.

"He told me, 'Keep doing what you're doing (because) you're developing a style,' " Gainsburg said. "But then he told me, 'If you want to pursue (stone carving) and continue with power tools, you want to get yourself to Italy and carve marble near Michelangelo.' "

Gainsburg set a goal to travel to Italy and visited the country during a two-week period for four years. It was there that she learned the true meaning of her passion and craft in stone carving exemplified in her classes today.

The other side of Gainsburg's teaching methods lies within her unblocking creativity workshops, which began in 1992, when one of her students suggested that she read "The Artist's Way," which guides people through discovering their creativity. After reading the book, Gainsburg gained a new inspiration for her work.

"I didn't understand why I didn't feel inspired at that time," Gainsburg said. "I started to see the value in the book, and when I completed it, I felt like a horse let out of the gate."

Gainsburg began to take what she learned from "The Artist's Way," which was breaking away from her fear of public speaking, and applied it to a three-month workshop. Today, Gainsburg leads her students by encouraging them to read a chapter of the book and meet once each week while keeping a daily journal. She said the process takes discipline, and it helps people try a new art form.

"People look at other people who are successful, and they don't think about the journey they went through to get there," Gainsburg said. "(The book) explores what it is that allowed that person to go forward and try something new. It teaches how to nurture the artist in you."

Carl Weller, one of Gainsburg's students in Las Vegas, has participated in her stone-sculpting classes and "The Artist's Way" workshops. Weller said he has gained motivation from Gainsburg's lessons and was able to conquer roadblocks he faced as a songwriter.

"Her classes opened a whole new world for me because I thought I had no artistic ability," Weller said. "Her class, I found, is the most enjoyable thing I do. No one can fail in her class because she has the ability to teach the very beginner."

Gainsburg applies the same concepts she teaches to students with her own work, keeping her favorite quote in mind.

"There's a famous quote by Anais Nin: 'Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage,' " Gainsburg said. "I love that quote because 95 percent of what I've accomplished has come through moving the fear aside."

Gainsburg teaches stone-carving classes from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. each Monday, Thursday and Saturday. She teaches "The Artist's Way" workshops on an ongoing basis.

For more information, call 249-3200 or visit gainsburgstudio.com.

Contact Paradise/Downtown View reporter Lisa Carter at lcarter@viewnews.com or 383-4686.