Molds

Molds are fairly easy to make. First you find an object that you would like to make a mold of. Then you must build a block of clay to stick the object into. Then you stick your object into the clay. The most important thing to do is make sure there are not undercuts on your object. An under cut is a location where the plaster will get under the object and will not come out. This is very hard to do with very complex objects. After inserting the object make four holes around the sides of the mold. Make sure they also have no undercuts. These will be the keys for the mold, so it locks exactly into place. After making the keys, build walls up around each side of the block of clay. The walls should be about 2 inches higher that the highest point of the object in the clay. Don’t forget to add a coil of clay connecting a part of the object to the walls so you can pour the mold. Now you are ready to pour plaster. Once the plaster sets remove all the clay, then rebuild the walls around the outside of the mold. Once the walls are built pour plaster once again. Then you have a two-piece mold.

To make a copy of the object you must put the two parts of the mold. Use a rubber band or duck tape. Then around the edges put a coil to prevent leaks. Then fill the mold with slip. Then you wait for the plaster to pull out the moisture from the slip, making a solid object that you can pull out of the mold. Don’t forget to pour out the extra slip making the object hollow.

I made a mold of a skull. I made many skulls and used them in my sculpture. This is one of my skulls.



AOI: Approches To Learning

I learned from this experience. I learned that I really like mold making and it is very easy to me. I think if I continue on in pottery this experience will prove very useful for me. From the molds I have also learned that everyone is different even if cast from the same mold. Each one of my skulls had a unique feature that none of the others had. I also learned that through the clay people can learn a lot about life.