Fabienne Micheline Cassman on mon 6 jan 03
Greetings,
I was wondering if any of you could point out a good book(s) to learn how
to make molds from square one by oneself; I won't have the luxury of first
hand help. I would need a list of projects to progress from a sprig and
ping pong ball to a mother plaster mold for a human bust with burlap
etc. I am also curious about rubber molds.
Frith's looks good, but it is limited to functional examples.
I cannot get enough info on Clayton's to consider it.
Does anyone have any experience with "Mold Making, Casting and Patina" by
Bruner Felton Barrie?
Thank you,
Fabienne Cassman http://www.milkywayceramics.com/
WARNING: I cannot be held responsible for the above
because my cats have apparently learned to type.
_,'| _.-''``-...___..--';)
/_ \'. __..-' , ,--...--'''
<\ .`--''' ` /'
`-';' ; ; ;
__...--'' ___...--_..' .;.'
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maskwoman on mon 6 jan 03
Hi there,
A book that I highly recommend is "Mold Making and Slip Casting" by Andrew
Martin. It is easy to understand and there are lots of photos. Also, if you
ever get the chance, his workshops are quite good!
Regards,
Peggy Bjerkan
delighting in the beautiful weather we're having in the Napa Valley!
www.maskwoman.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Fabienne Micheline Cassman"
Millie Carpenter on tue 7 jan 03
I agree that the Frith book is very good. I took a mold making for the
artist class at Baltimore Clayworks last year. We used it as a reference
and a booklet that the teacher had made up of handout and reprints from
older books. after we did the molds for sprigging and press molds for
tiles we started two piece slip molds using oranges, lemons and
grapefruit. then we got into the wonderful world of undercuts :-(
and making multipiece molds. I did find that the knowledge is very
transferable from function to sculptural. we were a real mixed bag in
that class.
also I have an old copy of Ceramic Sculpture by John B. Kenney. (from
1955) he has a very good chapter on mold making and used sculptural
forms.
there was a dealer at NCECA who had a company called Polytek. they had
a catalog and instructional manual http://www.polytek.com/ they also
have classes. I think that if you ran a google search on mold making
that you will find a lot more suppliers.
Millie in Md. Where we had lovely snow the other day, and my 22 year
old and his friends instantly regressed 10 years and had snowball fights
and went sledding.
Fabienne Cassman wrote:
>>>[mold book]...
>>>Frith's looks good, but it is limited to functional examples.
>>>
>
>>Does it matter? A shape's a shape. -Snail
>>
>
>Yes, it does... to me.
>
>Fabienne
>
>
>
>--
>Fabienne http://www.milkywayceramics.com/
>
>WARNING: I cannot be held responsible for the above
>because my cats have apparently learned to type.
>
> _,'| _.-''``-...___..--';)
> /_ \'. __..-' , ,--...--'''
> <\ .`--''' ` /'
> `-';' ; ; ;
> __...--'' ___...--_..' .;.'
> (,__....----''' (,..--''
>--
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
>
>
>.
>
Jeffrey Francis Longtin on tue 7 jan 03
Fabienne,
I agree with Snail that the Frith book is preety good., presents typical
problems addressed by all mold-makers. If you're looking for a book that
describes making plaster molds for sculptural work I don't think there is
one? (I've done my share of research on the subject myself!)
There is a book, however, that while it doesn't show you how to make
slip-casting sculpture molds per se it does show you what those molds look
like. It is titled Belleck, and shows those Belleck porcelain figurines in
production. It does a nice job of showing you how seams are placed on small
female and male forms and gives you an idea as to how many parts there are to
such molds. It is not a mold-making book so it doesn't give you step-by-step
instructions but it could be helpful nonetheless. It is intended for a
Belleck collector but I certainly found it to be very interesting.
(Also, if you really do need a book to help on this I would call up as many
producers as you can and ask them for any instructional/reference material
they may have. Often times producers have very good brochures that describe
how to use their product. Both USG and GP have very good brochures.)
Good Luck
Jeff Longtin
Complex Molds Made Easy
in cold, cold minnesota
Snail Scott on tue 7 jan 03
At 03:04 PM 1/6/03 -0600, you wrote:
>[mold book]...
>Frith's looks good, but it is limited to functional examples.
Does it matter? A shape's a shape. -Snail
Fabienne Cassman on tue 7 jan 03
>>[mold book]...
>>Frith's looks good, but it is limited to functional examples.
>Does it matter? A shape's a shape. -Snail
Yes, it does... to me.
Fabienne
--
Fabienne http://www.milkywayceramics.com/
WARNING: I cannot be held responsible for the above
because my cats have apparently learned to type.
_,'| _.-''``-...___..--';)
/_ \'. __..-' , ,--...--'''
<\ .`--''' ` /'
`-';' ; ; ;
__...--'' ___...--_..' .;.'
(,__....----''' (,..--''
--
Dwiggins, Sandra (NIH/NCI) on wed 8 jan 03
I would definitely recommend looking at the Polytek site. They manufacture
every kind of mold-making compound and if you are going to take molds from
natural objects that have lots of detail, they will have a compound for you.
However, they are not cheap, so bear that in mind.
IMHO, it's the detail and the number of times you are going to use the mold
that determines the type of material you use. When I took a mold-making
class (at Baltimore Clayworks, too!! With a great teacher..Jewell Brenneman)
I made a 5-part mold of a very complex savoy cabbage. Every detail came out
perfectly using pottery plaster. If I were thinking of producing a zillion
copies of this, I wouldn't use pottery plaster, I'd probably use something a
bit harder since the detail is so necessary to the form.
A very humble opinion from one who doesn't do molds that often...but has
both the Martin and the Frith books, and attended Andrew Martin's lecture at
NCECA, etc. etc.
Sandy
-----Original Message-----
From: Millie Carpenter [mailto:millie@RIVA.NET]
Sent: Tuesday, January 07, 2003 11:47 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: Need Book for Dummies - Molds
I agree that the Frith book is very good. I took a mold making for the
artist class at Baltimore Clayworks last year. We used it as a reference
and a booklet that the teacher had made up of handout and reprints from
older books. after we did the molds for sprigging and press molds for
tiles we started two piece slip molds using oranges, lemons and
grapefruit. then we got into the wonderful world of undercuts :-(
and making multipiece molds. I did find that the knowledge is very
transferable from function to sculptural. we were a real mixed bag in
that class.
also I have an old copy of Ceramic Sculpture by John B. Kenney. (from
1955) he has a very good chapter on mold making and used sculptural
forms.
there was a dealer at NCECA who had a company called Polytek. they had
a catalog and instructional manual http://www.polytek.com/ they also
have classes. I think that if you ran a google search on mold making
that you will find a lot more suppliers.
Millie in Md. Where we had lovely snow the other day, and my 22 year
old and his friends instantly regressed 10 years and had snowball fights
and went sledding.
Fabienne Cassman wrote:
>>>[mold book]...
>>>Frith's looks good, but it is limited to functional examples.
>>>
>
>>Does it matter? A shape's a shape. -Snail
>>
>
>Yes, it does... to me.
>
>Fabienne
>
>
>
>--
>Fabienne http://www.milkywayceramics.com/
>
>WARNING: I cannot be held responsible for the above
>because my cats have apparently learned to type.
>
> _,'| _.-''``-...___..--';)
> /_ \'. __..-' , ,--...--'''
> <\ .`--''' ` /'
> `-';' ; ; ;
> __...--'' ___...--_..' .;.'
> (,__....----''' (,..--''
>--
>
>___________________________________________________________________________
___
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
>
>
>.
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
Fabienne Cassman on wed 8 jan 03
I just had the *grumble* e-mail timed out (!?) on me, so as I was writing:
First, well, second now ;) I want to thank everyone for their suggestions and opinions. Keep 'em coming.
In my original post I agreed that Frith book was good; however, I want it all :) I am not trying to start a functional vs non-functional debate. I only want some examples of human molds. The reason is a practical not ideological one: I won't have someone holding my hands and will have to rely on text, 2D pictures, and the goodness of some folks on-line (that includes you :)). Scary stuff considering that even with the best teachers there are always mistakes to be made.
Here are a few suggestions that came my way and that others may want to use: http://www.smooth-on.com/ how-to brochure and "The Prop Builder's Molding and Casting Handbook" by Thurston James.
I am getting pretty much everything interlibrary since my library is rather denuded in that department. I am in possession of "Plaster Mold and Model Making" by Charles Chaney and Stanley Skee (1973) which is getting me started on the nature of the messt beast, plaster.
That's the scoop :)
Fabienne
--
Fabienne http://www.milkywayceramics.com/
WARNING: I cannot be held responsible for the above
because my cats have apparently learned to type.
_,'| _.-''``-...___..--';)
/_ \'. __..-' , ,--...--'''
<\ .`--''' ` /'
`-';' ; ; ;
__...--'' ___...--_..' .;.'
(,__....----''' (,..--''
--
Snail Scott on wed 8 jan 03
At 11:22 PM 1/7/03 EST, Jeff wrote:
>...shows those Belleck porcelain figurines in
>production. It does a nice job of showing you how seams are placed on small
>female and male forms and gives you an idea as to how many parts there are to
>such molds.
When I teach basic mold-making, I sometimes have
the students bring in small plastic toys from second-
hand stores or fast-food kids' meals. The forms range
from simple to moderately complex, and the parting
lines are always clearly visible. It makes a much
clearer lesson in determining parting line location
and undercuts than I could do in one lesson, and they
can refer back to their little plastic 'crib sheets'
to refresh their memory when actually working on their
class-project molds.
Plastic toys are often made from multiple molds, and
the parts attached after forming the plastic. (Action-
figure arm to torso, etc.) Someone always brings in one
like this, and it makes a great start on Lesson Two:
Not everything is best made in a single mold. Sometimes
cutting a piece into a few pieces, molding them
separately, them attaching the castings afterward, will
drastically simplify the casting of a form that looks
insanely difficult at first glance. This can be
particularly relevant to sculpture, as pottery often
tends to have fewer undercuts.
It's probably the biggest difference I can think of
between making molds for pottery or sculpture. Be
prepared to think in terms of PARTS if necessary.
Cutting the piece apart while stiff leather-hard is
my preferred method. Making the piece with separate
parts from the outset is also an option, and allows
for the creation of forms that would be difficult
to make as a single unit. Parts may be attached while
just stiff enough to handle, leather-hard, or even dry
(with paperclay), or attached after firing with epoxy.
-Snail
Debbie on wed 8 jan 03
The book; "From Clay to Bronze" by Tuck Langland has lots of good
information. Including making RTV molds from sculpture.
Best Wishes, Debbie in So. CA where the winds have finally stopped.
Snail Scott on wed 8 jan 03
At 10:41 AM 1/8/03 -0600, you wrote:
>..."The Prop Builder's Molding and Casting Handbook" by Thurston James...
I had a chance to take a workshop from Thurston James
some years ago, and bought the book then. All sorts
of varied techniques are discussed, and methods that
I had no interest in at the time have occasionally
become useful since then. Mostly not applicable to
clay casting, but many ideas can find new life when
adapted to other media. (And now I can make a fake
roast turkey from brushable latex and expandable
spray foam!)
-Snail
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