Gage Academy of Art
featuring Clara Schmitt

An innovative and accessible contemporary art school, Gage Academy of Art is unapologetically independent and fiercely committed to excellence in the fields of painting, drawing, sculpting, and printmaking. Celebrating 30 years of service to the community, we believe in personal mentorship and skills-based studio instruction, delivered by brilliant teaching artists with charcoal dust under their nails. Whether you are a curious newcomer or a professional artist, a working creative or a retired passion-seeker, Gage is open to anyone with the desire to learn.

The globally recognized Gage Academy of Art Atelier programs are designed for artists who intend to pursue profound mastery in painting, drawing, or sculpture disciplines under the guidance of internationally-renowned teaching artists.

Equinox Studios July 2026 featured artist CLARA SCHMITT is a figurative sculptor and instructor in the Magrath Sculpture Atelier at Gage Academy of Art.

In Clara's own words:

I'm French American figurative sculptor. Born and raised in Paris, France I moved to Seattle in 2015 and started training in 2021 at the Magrath Sculpture Atelier of Gage Academy of Art, located in Equinox (Studio C!). I graduated in 2025 and am currently teaching sculpture classes at Gage.

My work begins with a figure modeled in clay from life. Rather than treating the initial figure as a finished sculpture, I use it as the starting point for a longer process. From that original sculpture I make molds that allow the same forms to be repeated, fragmented, and recombined. As fragments accumulate, the work gradually shifts away from the original figure. Although every element remains rooted in observation, fragments and repetition produce new spatial relationships and volumes.

I started developing this process because I was not satisfied by how a classically modeled body offers a single coherent view of a figure. By repeating and recombining observed forms, each piece is structured so that no single pose, fragment, or viewpoint can account for the whole.

About the Magrath Sculpture Atelier

The Magrath Sculpture Atelier is a multi-year, part-time program at Gage Academy of Art designed to give students the skills and confidence to practice figurative sculpture at a high level of excellence.

Visit the Sculpture Atelier during our next Open Studios in the Factory Building, Studio 125-B!

Learn more about Clara:

www.claraschmitt.art
@claraschmitt.art