Slip Casting/ Ceramic Sculpture

WHAT IS SLIP CASTING? trip puting is a process of creating ceramic forms by modeling unstable clay ( place) into plaster regularizes. This process is most useful when you want to pass on multiples of a form. The figure extincts enable you to create identical copies. &8212&8212&8212&8212&8212 In the classroom, billet cast multiples heap be used to. -create multiples of a students ceramic artwork (for gift giving or a new engrave of multiples) -create identical starting forms that students will manipulate to create their own alone(p) artwork try ecstasy out different glaze techniques on go out experimentation without the fear of ruining the artworkMaterials All you need for mooring of paper roll Plaster mold, Clay slip, kiln Necessary items if you want to make your molds cardinal gallon bucket, plasticene ( non hardening clay), Vaseline /liquid soap, hammer , chisel/screwdriver, &8212 Plaster and slip are available at most ceramic supply centers. I listed some loc al suppliers on the resources page in this packet. Plaster comes in a couple different references. Pottery plaster is the standard and pronto available at ceramic supply stores. Casting plaster is scarcely necessary if you want to make extremely detailed make-ups. I go with the cheapest and it works fine for classwork.Just asclay comes in umteen forms, so does slip. The texture and chemical content of the slip dictate what type of clay body it forms. Clay slip bodies range from fine soft porcelain to coarse strong stoneware. Your firing temperature depends on the content of your slip. For normal classroom use I use low fire white casting slip. It is available in premixed 2gallon bags from most ceramic supply stores. It usually runs round 8 dollars a bag. Four gallons is enough for a class of xii to make at least two ten inch trap forms. HOW EXACTLY do you CAST SLIP? First, you need a mold made of plaster.It must be plaster because the plaster absorbs the water from the slip. carry out the mold with slip. As the mold absorbs the water, the level of the slip in the mold will go down requiring you to top off the mold. You want the slip to stay level with the horizontal surface of the mold. If you want a mindless form , you have to bedight out the excess slip. Watch for an 8th of an inch skin of slip to form on the edges of the piece onward you dump the slip. That skin is now the wall of your hollow piece. For small pieces, it all takes about five minutes before you are able to dump out the excess slip.If you leave a mold filled with slip too unyielding, the ceramic piece will be thick and heavy. Which doesnt really matter, but it wastes a lot of slip. If you dont leave it in long enough, it will tear as it comes out of the mold and be useless. You can pelt solid. Usually this practice is used for plates, bowls, and other utility items. To pour solid, just keep filling the mold with slip until it stops sucking up slip. pic HOW DO YOU get the piece O UT OF the MOLD? by and by you have dumped the excess slip, the mold has to sit and dry. The mold leaves the water out of the clay and dries the piece out.To speed up the drying you can use a fan, blowing across the molds, or put your molds on top of a ardent kiln. The larger the piece the longer it will take to dry. If you leave a piece in the mold too long, it will dry out too much and crack. If you dont leave it in long enough, it wont come out easily and will tear. You can tell if a piece is install to come out of the mold if it has pulled away from the sides of the mold/pour hole. When the casting is dry enough to take out, gently pull your casting, now more(prenominal) like leatherhard clay, out of the mold. It should release easily, if the piece is dry enough.Try to pull the piece straight out of the mold to keep from warping its shape. When the piece comes out of the mold it will be a dark olden. erstwhile out of the mold it will continue to dry and will turn light gra y. After the piece has dried to a light gray almost white, it is ready to fire in the kiln. Adapted from http//www. rykerstudios. com/ceramics/articles/slipcasting. htm RESOURCES Casting doze off Available in Atlanta from &8212 Davens Ceramic Center http//davensceramiccenter. com/ 5076 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, GA 30341 Fax 770-455-7012 4805. Atlanta Area 770-451-2105 email&160protected om Casting Supplies ONLINE &8212 Axner Ceramic grant http//www. axner. com/axner/supplies/slip-casting. php &8212 mold making and casting materials http//www. smooth-on. com/ How to Resources Trouble shooting guide- http//aardvarkclay. com/pdf/technical/ fundamentals%20of%20slip%20casting. pdf Short History of slip casting- http//www. lindawilsonceramics. co. za/3. html Deflocculation of slip-(make your own) http//ceramic-materials. com/cermat/education/213. html Videos- YouTube Video- http//www. youtube. com/ earn? v=8u_SABU_8d0 Advanced mold making video demos- http//www. smooth-on. com/media. php