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The hand cannot always coordinate the shapes The premise for the course is that in 3-days
that the mind sees. The course is about closing the surgeon can be taught how to learn the
that gap – how the hand understands what the basics of how to see. How to understand what
eye sees. What is significantly different about they are seeing and make informed surgical
“Sculpture for Surgeons” is the teaching method. choices based on that judgement.
Often with methods for visual training, smaller
sections of the whole are focussed upon based The method is to model a portrait head in
on linguistic or anatomical divisions. Hence the clay from a life model. A strict approach is
head can be separated into ear, nose, eye etc or demonstrated that combines both measuring
bones, muscles, skin etc. and guesswork. Measuring shows the
surgeon if their estimates are accurate. This
In this course, the form is broken down into enables a refinement of the surgeon’s visual
“perceptual layers”. Instead of each part being understanding.
understood and learnt in isolation, a method is
taught for “reading” the patterns seen. It is like The delegate is shown how to find points on
the difference between simply singing along with the model’s face and transfer them to their
a song or also knowing its key, time signature and clay. Distances are observed and curved lines
harmonies. As stated by Edwards in Tolleth “We broken down in simpler sections. A scaffolding-
must recognize that it is not enough to know like structure is made that connects the points
in our left brain what an ear looks like with its in space. Balance and symmetry are achieved
concha, helix, and tragus; there must be a sense before volumes are attempted.
of the whole and a synthesis before an adequate
ear can be modelled either in clay or flesh”(3). One of the most challenging facts of learning
3-D language is to understand depth. Nearly
Although earning 24 CPD points, not every every surgeon starts off building the face more
surgeon signs up for this 3-day course, but those akin to a mask, which is much flatter than
that do, walk away with an extra string to their reality. The corners of the eyes and mouth are
bow. often too far forward which makes the form
much flatter. This shows that the majority are
“Although undergraduate medicine is all about far more fluent in 2-D than in 3-D. With focus
“observation” I learnt a great deal more in just 3 on the points in space and their relationship,
days about how to look and see, than I think I did the depth can more easily be considered.
at medical school!” - Malcolm Cameron. In this way the clay head develops from the
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