Getting Into Shape

A Sunday afternoon sculpture workshop at the Sooky Goldman Nature Center above Studio City regularly attracts families and children who visit Franklin Canyon Park to hike and relax.

Teacher Shahin Atigheh has been conducting the workshop for a year. Her artistic career began in Tehran and took her from London to Geneva to Cal State Northridge. “People come here [to the park] to relax, they come to hike and as a continuation, they come to my class,” she said.

Participants on a recent Sunday ranged from Cub Scouts making animal sculptures to qualify for scouting awards, to a Hollywood director of photography finishing a sophisticated sculpture in remembrance of his father.

Cub Scouts Kevin and Josh Wolfe attended the workshop with their mom, Cheryl Wolfe.

“We’ve been here a lot for the last couple of weeks,” she said.

Fellow Cub Scouts Andrew McLoon and Christopher Sahakian and his sister, Lisa, who is a Brownie, came from Westwood. In her first lesson, Lisa fashioned a realistic miniature elephant. “It’s a project,” she said. “There’s no art [class] at my school.”

Christopher sculpted a snake. “Rattlers are my favorite animals,” he said.

Veteran cinematographer David Lewis, who has been attending Atigheh’s weekly classes since the last year, was finishing a statuette of a man in overalls. The creation was inspired by his father, he said. “He was a house painter in Wales,” Lewis said.

Under Atigheh’s direction, Lewis had progressed from beginner to a level at which he could not only sculpt well but make his own molds to duplicate his work. “When a student is ready, the teacher will come,” Lewis said.

During the class, another family strolled in from hiking. Colm Nelson, 2, picked up on what was going on and announced: “I want to make something, too!”

BE THERE

“Sculpture With Shahin,” Sundays, 2-4 p.m., William O. Douglas Outdoor Classroom/Sooky Goldman Nature Center, 2600 Franklin Canyon Drive, Los Angeles. $5 a session. From the 101 Freeway, drive south on Coldwater Canyon Avenue to Mulholland Drive. Enter Franklin Canyon Drive, which is unmarked, directly across from Coldwater Canyon Park, and drive downhill to the site. Call (310) 858-3090.