No new faces are going up on Mount Rushmore, but that doesn't mean all carving and chiseling at the mountain has stopped.

Throughout the summer, the National Park Service is offering free stone carving and clay portraiture workshops to any Gutzon Borglum wannabes willing to spend a week chipping away at their own mini-masterpieces.

The outdoor classes started three years ago as a way for visitors to further connect with the memorial. Through the practice of sculpture, the classes are intended to help students better understand and appreciate the process behind the iconic faces on the mountain.

This summer, all workshops are led by Kim Henkel, returning sculptor in residence at Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Henkel's duties vary from interpreter to park ranger. But, she says, teaching is her favorite part of the job.

"I really love teaching the classes and working outside," Henkel said. "I enjoy inspiring people and giving them an opportunity to work on sculpture for a week."

In the stone carving workshops, students begin by selecting an alabaster boulder to work on. Henkel says alabaster is used because it is a relatively soft stone that is easy to carve.

After learning the process, participants spend a week chiseling, filing and sanding their sculpture. By the end of the course, students will have logged more than 30 hours on their pieces.

Despite the length of the workshops, Henkel says visitors have not been dissuaded from signing up. If anything, she says, the class isn't long enough.

"It's pretty quick to have a week to do a stone carving class," Henkel said. "It usually takes weeks."

Henkel also says the turnout has been diverse; students range from tourists to locals, amateurs to professionals.

The July 7-12 workshop was no exception.

Marie Wieber and her daughter Elly, 13, from Denver found out about the class when they were planning their Black Hills vacation.

"Elly likes art so I thought it would be something we could do together," Marie Wieber said.

And although the workshop requires a significant time commitment, Wieber said they still found plenty of time to explore.

"After we get out of here, we can go see some of the sights around," Wieber said. "It left us enough time to still do the things we wanted to do."

Jessica Bivens, 12, of Hill City also didn't mind the length of the course. She found out about the class through her local Boys and Girls Club and decided to enroll because of her interest in art.

"It's very fun and I'm glad that I did it," Jessica said. "For the first time I think I did OK, but I still need a lot of practice."

But not everyone in the class was sculpting for the first time.

Participant Steve Van Asma is a professional artist with a studio in Piedmont. He said he usually works with wood and other metals, but was interested in trying stone.

Van Asma said he loved the class and saw it as a sort of vacation.

"It was great," Van Asma said. "It not only helps students find new materials, it helps them to meet new people and helps them to be exposed to sculpture."

In the end, Henkel's goal for participants is just to have a good time while learning about sculpture.

"You may not come out of here as an awesome artist, but you'll come out with an appreciation for it," Henkel said.

Contact Serri Graslie at 394-8401 or serri.graslie@rapidcityjournal.com.

If you go:

What: Free Mount Rushmore sculpture workshops

When: 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday

July 21-25 - Clay Portraiture

Aug. 4-8 - Stone Carving

Aug. 18-22 - Clay Portraiture

Sept. 8-12 - Stone Carving

Call: Kim Henkel at 574-3178 or Rhonda Schier at 574-3134

Where: Borglum Terrace at Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Who: Classes are open to those ages 12 and up; anyone under 16 requires an adult with them.

For more information, go to www.nps.gov/moru