The essential guide to mold making & slip casting

An overview : prototypes and molds

Designing, creating, and using

Tools & materials : Tools

materials

supplies

equipment

safety

Plaster : Types

Absorption rates

Consistency

Amounts

Mixing

Pouring

Frosting

Plaster prototypes

Mold soap and other separators

Storing

Featured artist : Anne Kraus: a conversation with the materials

One-piece molds : Handmade clay prototypes

One-, two-, and three-template clay prototypes

Footed forms

Cups and saucers

Plaster prototypes

Featured artist : Tom Spleth: cups and only cups

Multiple-piece molds : Making

Handles

Spouts

Pitchers

Tiles

Lidded forms

Hollow-cast feet

Fruits and vegetables

No-model molds

Complex molds

Master molds : Advantages

Plaster masters

Rubber masters

Featured artists : Donna Polseno and Richard Hensley: slip casting in production

Slip formulation : Deflocculation

Types of slip-casting clay bodies

Mixing equipment

Mixing

Specific gravity

Viscosity

Mixing wet and dry scraps

Mixing large batches

Featured artist : Richard Notkin: evolution is not an option

It's essential

Casting : Preparing slip

Preparing molds

Casting

Removing castings

Handling wet castings

Assembling cast parts

Drying castings

Preparing castings for firing

Firing

Troubleshooting : Broken molds

chipped molds

"Plaster disasters"

Troubleshooting guide.