Freeform Friday: Plastered

... plaster molds, of course. What did you think I meant?

This week I have been in the ceramics studio, aka the glaze cave, all day every day. I am in the middle of a big push to restock my tile and pendant designs for my first big Spring show. And I have new designs as well - I try to reveal new designs twice a year. I am working on some of the meaning behind my images in my Folklore Friday posts - this batch has quite a few animals/totems/guides.  I thought a little insight into the process of my ceramics pendants might be interesting...

New designs for Spring 2013. (Tree of life, owl, fox, penguin, hare, raven, cat)

My "Mythic Nature" designs are my original series of icons and symbols inspired by myth and nature. Each design is hand carved from my sketch. I really sculpt as much as I carve... smoosh some clay on, shape it, carve it, smoosh more on... You can see the raven head pendant in the rough there in the top right. Each one takes hours to do... 

Soft clay pressed into the molds. 

When the originals are complete, I cast them in plaster. This mold was cast in a mold box, and holds 4 designs. This is a one shot deal. If something goes wrong in the pouring, or plaster the original is lost. The plaster sets in app. 30 minutes, but takes a few days to fully dry. 

When I am pressing pendants - the plaster of the mold actually assists the process. It absorbs moisture, and as the clay dries a bit - released easily from the mold. Here they are all scraped free of excess clay and ready to come out. If I am in production mode, I can make anywhere from 6-12 before the mold needs to dry a bit. 

Why is the penguin not being used? Sadly - The original was very tall, and the mold very deep... it doesnt release well. I have to start over with that one... Or try RTV next time. 

RTV is a 2 part silicone mold making material that many of us use... ( remember those textures I made?) It creates a flexible mold and as such allows for undercuts, more three dimensional items. You can see the depth of the fox head mold on the left. This is my first time using RTV with a pendant design. It takes longer as the RTV isn't absorbent - the clay has to set up in the mold.  Patience? If I must... 

 Pressing the pendants is the quick and easy part of the process. Here on the left - rough, fresh from the molds. On the right: stage 2! Nichrome wire for loops - embedded in the clay for your beading uses. Dust mask and scrubby - I sand the edges and holes to make everything perfectly smooth. Dry clay is the enemy; safety is exceedingly important!

 There! Loops, sanded, details touched up with a carving tool. ( Pencil for scale. No secret use of a pencil in my process. ) Now they dry for as long as it takes - day or 2... Then into the kiln for the bisque fire...



As evidences by the bowl below - I have quite a bit still to do. So back to the glaze cave... Mr Fox is waiting for his close up!

Jenny

www.jdaviesreazor.com