Studio della Statua is the teaching atelier of sculptor Jason Arkles. The atelier system is a centuries-old tradition of training young artists within the studio of an active professional artist, providing both a 'classroom' structure of education combined with the opportunity to work alongside with and learn from a professional sculptor.

The enrollment of Studio della Statua is kept to a small number so that each student may more fully benefit from the personal instruction and opportunities to learn and work. The student body may be thought of as an ensemble as much as a class, working together towards the common goal of knowledge and mastery of the craft.

Jason Arkles was himself trained within the atelier system at the Charles H. Cecil Studio in Florence, eventually becoming the instructor for sculpture in that atelier, which is renowned for training portrait painters. Cecil himself learned in the ateliers of R.H. Ives Gammell and Richard Lack, whose own masters in turn descend directly from the 19th century École des Beaux-Arts masters and methods. (For more information on atelier training methods and history, visit the Charles H. Cecil website.)

In 2009, Cecil Studio stopped offering sculpture as a part of its curriculum, and supported Arkles in the formation of his own independent sculpture atelier. Thus the tradition of artists training the next generation continues.

What makes Studio della Statua unusual is that it is one of the few traditional ateliers entirely devoted to sculpture. What makes it unique is the scope of its curriculum. As the atelier's name implies, the goal of the Studio is to train students in statuary arts: in addition to intense study of the nude figure, the studio provides a thorough grounding for its advanced students in architectural and decorative sculpture, relief sculpture, the methodical study of drapery, single- and multi-figure composition, the methods of enlargement and reduction - in short, everything a sculptor should know if one wishes to become more than merely a sculptor of small 'gallery' nudes, which these days seems to be the end goal for many teaching studios.

The biography, sculpting method, and work of Jason Arkles can be found here.