Photo Blog of Practical Work

 I thought I would post photos of my making so far:



These two images show the moulds that were originally made for the tile commission. I was hoping that I may be all to tidy them up ready to be moulded, to create the mould of the moulds.


After cutting the moulds and sanding them, I wasn't happy with the finish so I decided I had to make new models for the moulds.


I decided on a set height and depth for all the models and then I started to prepare everything to make the model. These are the cottle boards ready for the tile and plaster.


As there was an undercut on the tiles, I had to backfill the tile with clay to prepare the tile for plaster.


This is the tile ready to have the plaster poured on the top.




I had to repeat the process for each size tile: three times in total.



These are the models before they are sanded.


This is the start of the moulding process. I chose to make the smallest tile mould first. I use the coin to create notches for the plaster to lock together.





I was happy with the final result for this mould so I proceeded to make the other two.








The large one is quite heavy, I will need help when casting it as the weight of the slip inside and the mould will be too much for me to do a controlled pour.


This is the first cast from the smallest mould. I am happy with the result.





The pieces were fired and there have been a couple of issues after firing. This can happen with the first few casts of a mould. There is tension on the inner piece as I remove it from the mould and it is cracking. Even when the crack is then repaired it opens up again in the kiln. I am going to sand the mould slightly to avoid this issue continuing with further pieces.


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