I have to disagree with some of your recommendations, respectfully of course. There are no absolutes in photography. It all depends on style and desired results. Since when can't you shoot a statue with a flash? If you take a look at SquiderM3's photo thread, nearly all his pics utilize flash. Also, esp. when shooting with a camera such as yours, in no way is it necessary to shoot exclusively at ISO 100. Your camera is capable of producing excellent shots north of ISO 800. Nor do you have to you use a tripod at all times, it's all preference. I find that shooting with a tripod sometimes restricts creativity and good composition...unless you compose first and then mount the camera on the tripod in a similar position. Only when your shutter speed drops below ~1/30 (or as low as you can hold the camera still) is it necessary to use a tripod.
The shots below were generally composed and then mounted on tripod. Composition was then fine-tuned and the subjects were lit with flash and reflectors. I used a wired trigger to fire the camera/flash because I was blocking spill light from the flash by hand-holding a piece of cardboard...in the set-up pic below the cardboard I was hand-holding is taped to the flash.
set-up
The best way to learn is to experiment with different style and techniques.
