by Rosanne Sloane

Created on: September 24, 2009   Last Updated: November 08, 2010

There are commercial and homemade molds that you can use for traditional clay, polymer clays, and slip casting. Most commercial molds are proven products for the mold making method. They come in various sizes and textures. They are found in a wide range of materials such as plaster, plastic, rubber, metal, silicone and resin. Most molds are in common forms such as plates, platters, bowls, vases, masks, the alphabet, numbers, animals, and flowers. If you find a form you like, you can eventually make your own mold using clay and plaster.

Traditional clay molds can be placed on a pottery wheel or used with a hand building technique. Molds placed on the wheel are commonly known as jiggering molds. The wheel head spins as in the throwing process. A slab of clay is placed over the mold on the wheel head. A profile tool which is attached to an arm on the back of the wheel comes down and cuts the clay into the shape of the mold. If you would like to watch a video on this process, visit Axner Pottery Supply, www.axner.com, click Equipment on their front page, then Pottery Wheel Accessories, then Axner Power Arm. There are 3 mini videos that will excite you and spark your interest in clay molds.

Clay molds used with the hand building technique are known as slump hump molds. They will allow you to pour both hump and slump plaster molds quickly and easily. Both molds for the pottery wheel and hand building start with a plastic mold which plaster is poured into for durable consistent continual use. One of the most widely used Jigger and Slump hump molds are produced by Pure and Simple Pottery Mold Company in Willits, CA, www.pspottery.com.

Whether on the wheel or hand building, just drape a slab of clay over the top of the mold. The polymer clay molds are similar but more flexible and are made of resin or rubber. You can simply press the polymer clay into the mold and pop it out for quick detailed impressions. Designer Push Molds by American Clay Art, www.amaco.com, is one of the most well-known one-sided mold systems. Slip casting molds are primarily made of Plaster of Paris due to its durability for reuse. Once the mold is made, slip is poured into the mold for reproduction. Mad About Molds, www.madaboutmolds.com, has the most extensive listing of molds available especially for slip casting as well as polymer clay.

The slip casting business has taken a hard hit with the recession, Craig's List, www.craigslist.com, has been a popular place where people have been posting used molds in bulk. If you are starting out using molds and are on a budget, you can use products found around the house, garage or studio. You can use plastic containers from food, meat trays, soap molds, baking molds, candle molds, inverted rubber stamps, etc. On occasion, a Styrofoam meat trays can be used but not as often as plastic. Over a period of time though, plastic will eventually start warping due to the drying process of the clay. All molds work best with a mold release agent such as mold soap, Ease Release 2300, Laguna Pure Lube, Talc powder, and vegetable oil. It is always best when working with molds in different mediums to keep them separated. Contamination could occur even after cleaning. If you find your mold has a chip or is deteriorating, please replace immediately.

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