Ceramics and Mold Making

For one thing, I had to learn everything the hard way. I didn't attend a class nor did I have all the equipment I needed to start out with.

Taking those memories, I wrote as though I was my own teacher, at the time. We don't all have access to wood working tools, so how do you get around that when making a mold form? We don't all know the science of plaster, so how do we mix it by feel?

While I was busy, turning out hundreds of molds, I happened to start noticing a familiar pattern in the plaster/water mixture. I soon discovered that I could use that pattern instead of all the weighing and measuring. I pass that knowledge on, in the e-books.

Anyone can make ceramic molds. Sometimes it just takes having the right mind set, instead of all those tools. I've been known to make a mold in mid-air. Sound crazy? Might be but it sure works for me.

The Mold Making book was the first. I finished it and started selling on Ebay. I got a question, one day that prompted a whole other book. A young lady asked me if this book would help her to know what to do with all the ceramic molds, left to her by her grand-mother. My answer was, "No but give me a sec and I'll have you one that will."

I then sat down to illustrations and detailed instructions, written as though for a person who had absolutely no tools to work with. All my little short cuts and 'make do's'. That ebook then began selling on Ebay, too.

Not long after that, and having realized I had mentioned Master Blocks, in the Mold Making book, I sat down to sketching and writing for a whole other E-book called Master the Master Block. Now I had 3.

While I do realize there are hundreds of books, on the market, concerning mold making (I know, I have them all), I also realize that not everybody has the means to follow their directions. For example, making a mold form. Did you know you can get away with using roofing paper and a strap?

In my instruction books, I also talk about the old wives tales surrounding poured ceramics as well as misunderstandings about the care of plaster molds. Leaching, is really not such a good idea and I tell you why in my books.

You can find more information about the E-books at Mold Making and Pouring Ceramics

I've had folks ask me all sorts of questions about molds. What kind of mold can be used to cast different mediums, etc. Here's a quick run down.

In a mold made of plaster you can cast almost anything. Ceramics, wax, polymer clay, even other plaster if there are no undercuts and you can even cast resins with proper separator used on the plaster mold.

In a rubber mold, you can also cast just about anything, including resins or plaster. You can purchase rubber compounds that are formulated for high enough heat to cast melted wax and even metals.

In a liquid latex mold, you're pretty much stuck with only pouring plasters into the mold. Latex doesn't tolerate too much heat and most any other material will have an affect on your mold, such as shrinking or shortening its life.

Molds made of plastics are really only suitable for plaster, as they don't absorb and depending on the plastic formula, may be sensitive to heat. A rigid plastic is suitable for polymer clay.

Looking at it the other way around, the only suitable mold material for clay is plaster. The best mold material for polymer clay is plaster or hydrastone, although plastic is also suitable.

The only really suitable mold material for resins is silicone rubber, although other rubbers work as well, just not as detailed.

This is just a brief overlook but probably helpful if you're new to the mold making business and have a project you're working on already.